Tough Choices
by theBringerofWar
Summary: Modern AU. Elsanna. Elsa lands a job as a high school science teacher fresh out of college and signs up to coach the girl's tennis team. She expects everything to go smoothly until her first day, when she meets Anna- the self-proclaimed captain of her tennis team.
1. First Day

"Come on, Elsa. Just _one_ drink."

Elsa defeatedly puts her head down on the small wooden table, off in the corner of her favorite bar. However tempting an alcoholic beverage sounds right now, she knows that it probably wouldn't be a responsible decision. "No," she groans, "I told you my first day of work is tomorrow, and I don't _want_ to mess this up."

Olaf, her best friend, lets out a loud chuckle as he slams his beer on the table with more force than he probably intended to. "Come on, Elsa. Don't tell me you're _nervous_," he says teasingly. "Are you afraid you're gonna get attached to these kids?"

Elsa lifts her head, squinting at Olaf. She knows that responding to him in this state is frivolous, but she still can't help but take every statement he makes to heart. "No," she replies, somewhat annoyed. "I'm only doing Teach For America for these two years so my med school application will look better," she says with a special sass she has reserved _only_ for him. "I'm just nervous because... Well high school wasn't exactly the best the first time around." She lets out a resigned breath as she focuses her eyes on a name carved into the table.

Olaf leans over and places a hand on her shoulder. "There's that ice queen I know and love," he smiles.

Elsa can tell that the statement is supposed to be endearing but it falls a little short. Olaf seems to enjoy calling her the ice queen, but personally she harbors a deep resentment for the epithet. It started as a joke a while back, but for some reason it has stuck around.

Olaf continues to speak after a short pause. "High school wasn't _all_ that bad. I thought you looked cute in braces. It was also cute how you were the only girl on the tennis team who wore that super thick polo shirt even though it was hot as all hell outside."

Elsa starts laughing, more out of convention because he made a joke, rather than actually thinking it was funny. High school had been a really hard time for her, and even though she just graduated from college, it still feels a little close to home.

Elsa's courteous laugh stops abruptly when she is suddenly reminded of a commitment she had made. "Crap!" she exclaims, "-I forgot I agreed to coach the girl's tennis team. We have a practice tomorrow..." she trails off as nerves start to creep up her skin at the thought of having to confront a team where, in a way, she'd be the newest member.

"And don't make fun of me," she whispers after a brief silence, feeling the sudden need to defend herself. "I only wore that shirt because I was self conscious about my body. That's perfectly normal for a teenage girl."

Olaf gives her a reassuring smile. "Your body is great Elsa... Also, practice on the first day? What is this? Don't be a Nazi, Elsa."

"I want to get to know the girls," she chirps, ignoring his Nazi comment. "It's actually the thing I've been the most excited about, albeit still a little nervous. I miss doing tennis."

She had picked the sport up her freshman year of high school, and for some reason it just came easy to her. Tennis had been her favorite part of high school, and the driving force that kept her moving forward during her otherwise not so great teen years.

Olaf nods understandingly, even though it's a bit unclear whether or not he's understanding_ anything _with his current level of intoxication. "Just remember, they're just as afraid of you, as you are of them," he slurs, slightly swaying in his seat.

"Is that right? I think you've had a little too much to drink," Elsa laughs. "I'm pretty sure they'll be everything but afraid of me."

She sighs at the thought. It's not that she wants to have a necessarily intimidating presence, but she at least wants to command some form of respect from her students. One of the things she's most nervous about is that maybe she won't be able to control her classroom. Losing control isn't something she deals with well. "I need to go home so I can get a good night of sleep," she whispers. "Come on you big lump, I'll drive."

They both stand from the table, Elsa more easily than Olaf, and begin to make their way toward the car. Being able to manage the uneasy process of getting her large, swaying friend from point A to point B is a skill that Elsa isn't sure if she should be proud or ashamed of. Never-the-less, she finally gets him into the passenger seat of the car, and buckles him in.

"Not much has changed since college," he smiles up at her.

She lets out a soft laugh, staring down at her friend. "Maybe because we graduated just a few months ago," she says, before shutting his door. She then walks around to the other side and gets in the driver's seat, and starts the car to begin the drive back to their apartment complex.

Olaf is silent most of the ride, the dull vibrations lulling him off to sleep. It gives Elsa time to think about the exciting day she has ahead of her. _Maybe exciting isn't the word for it,_ her thoughts insist, not wanting to be overly optimistic. After all, she had adopted the mentality of expecting the worst and hoping for the best.

She takes in a deep breath as she attempts to turn away from her negative thoughts. There's no point in getting herself worked up about tomorrow. She's already nervous, and she doesn't need the added stress of her mind pointing out everything that can possibly go wrong. The silence in the car no longer feels welcoming, so she turns on the music for the remainder of the drive.

When they make it to the apartment complex, Elsa helps Olaf out of the car, and into his apartment. She gives him a glass of water and makes sure he drinks it all. It had become a regular habit of hers, taking care of her drunk friend. He partied way too hard during college, and she was always there to make sure he didn't have a huge hangover... or alcohol poisoning.

Once she feels that he's good for the night, she goes across the hall to her own apartment, too tired to do anything but immediately head to sleep. She enters her bedroom and begins stripping out of her day clothes, trading them for pajamas. _Tomorrow will be a great day_, she thinks, willing herself believe it. Whether it is true or not, the thought makes her smile as her head hits the pillow and she drifts off to sleep.

She wakes the next day to her alarm that she had set thirty minutes earlier than she normally would. She sits up and immediately feels nervous now that the day has finally arrived.

_What if they don't like me?_

She tries to shake the thought away. First thought of the day and it's negative_. _This isn't the way she wants to start her day off, and it isn't the way she _needs _to start her day off. She takes in a deep breath, resetting her mind, before she gets out of bed and heads toward the bathroom.

Elsa turns the water on in the shower, feeling the bathroom get deliciously steamy before stepping in and letting the warmth consume her. She gently washes every inch of her body, kneading away her worries as she tries to fight off the urge to get back in bed and skip showing up to work all together.

When she finishes cleaning, she gets out and slowly dries herself with a newfound outlook for the day. She then walks back into the bedroom toward a chair where her neatly folded and ironed uniform sits.

Her clothing options for work are limited- she either has to wear a navy blue shirt and Khaki bottoms, or business casual. She decided on Khaki and navy blue for the first day.

Elsa grabs the khaki pants and slides into them, before pulling the navy blue shirt over her messy hair. Now that she's wearing the uniform, the situation seems a little more real. This is happening. She is actually going to be a teacher.

After she finishes getting dressed, she walks back into the bathroom, taking out her makeup bag. She normally isn't much of a makeup type person, but today she is nervous. She wants to make a good impression, and the makeup can boost her confidence. At least that's what the magazines say. She decides to go for a simple look- only focusing on her brows, lashes, and lips.

Elsa opens the bag and takes out a barely used tube of lip gloss. She then takes the top off the tube and carefully rubs the cherry-flavored gel onto her puckered lips. When she is finished she twists the top back on and sets the tube down on the sink. She looks at her reflection in the mirror, assessing her new and improved countenance. She doesn't really feel more confident.

_Maybe the magazines lied._

Elsa takes in a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves once again. She can see the worry growing in her icy blue eyes and she desperately tries to mentally will it away. _Today is going to go fine, _she tells herself. The thought has enough conviction to convince her brain that she can believe it. Her eyes glimmer with a flicker of hope, giving her enough confidence to continue getting ready.

Once Elsa finishes her makeup she twists her platinum blonde hair into a braid before wrapping it into a bun. She then looks down at her shirt, smoothing it as the gold lettering in the upper left corner catches her eye. It says _staff_.

She runs her finger across the word. How could one small word hold so much power and responsibility? _Am I ready for this?_ Elsa shakes her head. Of course she's ready. She's just teaching a couple of science courses. How bad could it be?

* * *

><p>Elsa drags the chalk across the board as she carefully tries to draw the inner membrane of a mitochondrion. The chalk makes a loud squeaking noise and Elsa cringes as she hears several snickers come from behind her. "So the inner membrane," she starts, realizing her voice is too low to be heard. She clears her throat and tries to speak again, but is interrupted by the bell.<p>

Elsa slaps the chalk down and turns to leave faster than most of the students, but then she remembers that she's the teacher. She patiently waits for the students to pile out of the room before shutting her class door and letting out a breath that she was sure she'd been holding since first period.

Elsa walks to her desk and takes a seat in the uncomfortable excuse for a desk chair. She then puts her head down and lets out a sigh. The day was hard. She was quickly learning that teaching wasn't just about knowing the subject.

Each student learns at a different pace, and some students only show up to disrupt the class._ I need to read a book on classroom management._ She takes in a deep breath as she shuts her eyes. She needed to focus on having positive thoughts. That was the only way she could get through this.

Her moment of relaxation is cut short by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Elsa lifts her head. She hadn't heard anyone enter the room, but there is a girl with strawberry blonde hair and freckles staring down at her. She didn't remember seeing the girl in any of the classes so she wonders why she's here.

The girl lifts her hand and presses her mouth into a smirk. "Hey.. uhm, I'm Anna. I'm on the tennis team. I figured I'd stop by and make sure you knew how to get to the courts.. but if I'm interrupting something, I could just leave."

Elsa stares at the girl longer than she intended to, before realizing she should probably respond. She clumsily stands from her desk and shakes her head. "N-no, you're not interrupting anything. I'm Els.. er Ms. Askeland." She extends a hand towards the girl. _Get it together, Elsa._

"What kind of name is that? Where's it from," Anna asks, completely ignoring the hand extended in her direction.

Elsa looks around before dropping her arm back to her side. "It's Norwegian. I was actually born-"

"Nevermind," the younger girl interrupts. "We should get to practice, I need to get out of here as fast as possible. I have a date." She says the last sentence with a smile as she turns to leave the room.

Elsa watches her walk away, before realizing she should probably follow her. "Wait up, Anna. I have to get my stuff." She runs behind her desk and grabs her bag, before heading out of the door and locking it behind her.

Anna leads Elsa to the tennis courts where they find twelve girls dressed and ready for practice. They become silent as they see Elsa and Anna approaching.

Anna starts to laugh. "Oh my God, these try-hards," she says, disbelief in her voice. She turns to Elsa. "Guess I'm the only one not ready." She shrugs. "I'm the captain though, so I'm really the only one that matters." She rolls her eyes and turns to head towards the locker room.

"Actually-," Elsa blurts out, causing Anna to stop and turns around. "I was thinking we could do a sort of re-tryout of all the girls… just to get a clear ranking of where everyone stands. I haven't actually seen any of you play."

Anna walks back toward Elsa. "I've been captain for two years. I'm the best. I didn't show up to _re-tryout._"

"Well, if you're the best… you should have no problem beating everyone else," Elsa says, attempting to hold her ground.

Anna rolls her eyes and takes in an exasperated breath. "Look, I know you're new here, but you could at least act like you know what you're doing. You can't just show up and rearrange everything. We were the best school in tennis last year. Try not to fix what's not broken."

Elsa looks at the ground. She hates to admit it, but she's actually somewhat intimidated by the girl. She hadn't expected this much opposition to her idea. She raises her head. "Actually, I _can _rearrange everything. I'm the coach… and as I said, if you're the best, you'll keep your spot. That is of course, unless you want to leave early. In that case, you're free to go."

Anna scowls at Elsa before pulling out her phone. She dials a number and puts it to her ear. "Hey." She smiles and bites down on her lip. "I miss you, too… even though I just saw you... Uhm, practice might be a little long today, so I might have to cancel on our date. This new coach is.." She looks up at Elsa. "I just might not be able to make it. Please don't be angry." She nods her head. "Okay. I know. I'm sorry." She's silent for a moment. "Well, I have to go... I love you Hans." She waits a moment before looking down at her phone screen. Elsa can see the hurt in Anna's eyes. Anna looks up at Elsa. "You happy now? I'll do your dumb tryouts."


	2. American Royalty

Elsa watches her tennis players rally as she jots down little reminders about each girl on her notepad. Her eyes are constantly drawn to Anna, despite already feeling a special opposition toward the younger girl. Elsa had been a great tennis player, but Anna truly is magnificent.

There is a certain grace and style to her playing that just makes it so.. _natural. _Anna has a type of talent that can't be taught- it is something she was _born_ with.

_No wonder she's so smug_, Elsa thinks as she stops in front of the court that Anna is playing in.

She watches as the freckled girl throws the ball in the air and smacks it down so hard that her opponent doesn't even get a chance to _think_ about returning it. The motion looked so fluid and effortless, that it was nothing short of awe-inspiring. From the looks of it, Anna has everything it takes to some day become a professional tennis player, if that is something she wants to pursue.

The thought brings pause to Elsa, and she finds herself feeling somewhat sad, and disappointed. With the attitude that Anna has, it'd be surprising if the younger girl goes _anywhere_.

Elsa takes in a deep breath and lets out a sigh. She would hate to see talent like that go to waste. Anna really _could_ have a bright future ahead of her, with the proper guidance. And that's where Elsa is supposed to come in. Being the coach means that she can possibly get the chance to make a difference in these girls' lives, and change their perspectives on certain things- hopefully for the better._  
><em>

_Maybe this is why people like to be teachers,_ she thinks,_ -setting students on the right path._ She smiles to herself, thinking of how Olaf had teased her about her getting attached to these kids. She doesn't need to let that happen, though. Medical school is the goal and, no matter what, she's going to keep her eyes on that target.

"You like what you see?" Elsa is jerked from her thoughts by the sound of Anna's voice. She sees the younger girl taking a sip from her water bottle with her tennis racket firmly tucked under her arm. Her hair is tied up in a ponytail, and even though she's been working really hard, it hardly seems like she's broken a sweat.

_Yeah, I do like what I see. _

The thought comes so easily to Elsa, that she stops for a moment in shock and panic, inhaling sharply. _What the hell was that, Elsa? _She scolds herself, however involuntary and intrusive the thought had seemed, it was still highly inappropriate.

After a couple of seconds she decides not to dwell on it as she tries to professionally respond to Anna's attempt to rile her up. "You have a pretty nice backhand. Just uhh, keep up the good work." She gives the younger girl a polite smile before quickly turning to go watch some of the other girls play. She starts walking but is stopped by Anna's voice.

"Yeah, sure," Anna smirks, "Maybe you should just take a picture. It'd last longer." Elsa turns back toward Anna and the younger girl lets out a small laugh before grabbing her racket from under her arm and returning to her match. Elsa catches herself out to roll her eyes at teen, but pauses to take a deep breath instead. _You're the adult in this situation. Just conceal your anger._

After she manages to get a firm grip on her calm, she turns and walks off to watch the other girls play.

At the end of practice Elsa calls the girls together so she can address them as a group. "I really liked a lot of what I saw today, but there were also some things I _didn't_ like." She looks to Anna as she says the last part. "Tomorrow I will announce the rankings at practice and then we can get started on our drills. Get some rest tonight, you deserve it. Oh, and make sure you're eating properly."

Elsa smiles to herself. _I'm pretty good at this advice giving thing._ She dismisses practice and the girls all get up and start heading toward the locker room.

Anna hangs around and waits until the others are a good distance away. She walks over to Elsa, who is gathering the ball hopper. "So, let's be honest here… I'm better than everyone on this team," Anna states, with unfaltering confidence.

Elsa turns around and thinks to give her a response that might knock her down a notch, but when she looks over she sees worry in the younger girl's eyes. It's only there for a moment before it quickly flickers away, but it's enough to give Elsa pause about wanting to punish her for her attitude. Instead she just nods. "Yes, Anna. You are the best on the team," she agrees, softly.

"Okay then, that's settled. I'll still be capt-"

"I wasn't finished. Please don't interrupt me," Elsa calmly interjects.

Anna is momentarily taken aback by Elsa's sudden authoritative tone, and the older woman uses this opportunity to finally try and get her point across. She clears her throat before speaking. "There is no denying your talent, so I won't even try. That doesn't change the fact that from the moment we met, you have been nothing but rude to me. I think it's time you realized that I'm your superior here." Elsa turns to walk away, satisfied with her response, but she feels a hand on her shoulder.

She turns to see Anna pitifully standing behind her, the worry in her eyes almost palpable. This time it doesn't go away. She wordlessly stares into Elsa's eyes for a moment before speaking. "What do you mean by that?" she breathes. "You can't take my spot away." She turns and takes a few steps away from Elsa before turning back around, tears pooling in her eyes. "I'm trying to get a scholarship for tennis. You can't ruin that for me. It's all I have. I need the money for college, otherwise I won't be able to go."

Anna's voice sounds frantic, and she tugs at the hem of her skirt as the confidence she had been exuding all practice quickly slips away. She looks at Elsa with disbelief, as if she can't understand why the older woman would want to reconsider making her captain of the team.

Elsa feels conflicted inside. She doesn't know how to handle this situation. This wasn't a predicament she wanted to be in on her first day. Anna had been rude to her, but she would hate to stand between the younger girl and her chance to go off to college.

She finally acquiesces and gives Anna a warm smile, trying to calm the freckled girl. "I won't take your spot away," she starts, her tone gentle. "You have my word on that. I think that you could maybe show me a little more respect, though... you're a role model for the younger players, so they'll follow your lead on this. It'd also make my job a hell of a lot easier."

Anna's eyes light up, showing no sign of her previous, nervous state, and she grabs her racket from the ground. She immediately turns from Elsa and starts jogging toward the locker room, briefly looking back to yell over her shoulder. "Sure thing, coach!"

* * *

><p>Elsa slumps exhaustedly on the old tattered couch in Olaf's apartment. "I didn't think this job would be this hard," she grumpily mutters as she briefly closes her eyes. She pauses and looks over at Olaf. "I'd like that drink now," she says with a resigned tone. She runs a hand through her hair as she lets out a sigh.<p>

Olaf gives Elsa a smile as he goes to pour her a drink. "I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you think it was, Elsa. It was just your first day. Is there anything in particular that you felt went wrong?" He raises a brow in her direction. "Anyone giving you trouble," he asks teasingly as he starts to laugh.

Elsa throws a couch pillow in his direction. "Actually, yeah. I feel like I can eventually get a grip on the classroom, but my biggest problem seems to come wrapped up in the form of a small, freckled, teenage girl. She seems to think she's the end-all-be-all in tennis."

Olaf returns with a drink and hands it to Elsa. "I thought tennis was supposed to be the fun part of your day."

She takes a sip of the drink and lets out an appreciative moan as the warm liquid slides down her throat. She turns to Olaf, nodding. "Yeah, I thought so too."

He lets out a small laugh and pats her on the shoulder. "So what's the name of this girl that's giving you so much trouble? I'll see if I can find someone to take her out." He gives Elsa a wink and she starts to laugh, genuinely.

She takes another sip of her drink before responding. "You always know how to cheer me up, but that won't be necessary. I'll figure something out. Her name is Anna Perelman or something rather. I can't remember."

The smile leaves Olaf's face and he gives Elsa a hard stare before tilting his head and squinting his eyes. "Holy shit."

Elsa shakes her head, unaware of why Olaf seems so suddenly shocked. "What's your deal?"

Olaf runs a hand through his hair. "I knew the Perelman's lived around here, but I didn't know their daughter went to the school you work at. That's pretty insane. Figures_ she'd_ be the one giving you trouble." He laughs to himself as he leans back on the couch.

Elsa's face twists in confusion. "What are you talking about? Who are those people?" She had never even heard of anyone named Perelman before.

Olaf's eyes widen in astonishment. "How do you not know who they are? They're like American royalty… and by that I mean _extremely_ rich."

Elsa blinks a few times before shaking her head. "Nah, this can't be the same girl. She told me she couldn't afford college without a tennis scholarship."

Olaf gets off the couch and grabs his laptop. He returns and sits down, opening it. He types something in and then clicks a few times before turning the screen towards Elsa. "She look familiar?"

Elsa stares at the picture of Anna on Olaf's computer screen. "You've got to be freaking kidding me."


	3. Saved by the Bell

Elsa throws the fifth dress she's tried on, on the bed as she runs a hand through her hair in frustration. Nothing seemed to look right on her, which was weird because she didn't normally have this much trouble picking out an outfit. Olaf shakes his head. "I don't know Els, I thought that one looked nice on you."

Elsa pinches the bridge of her nose before bringing her hands down and ringing them together. She looks to Olaf, worried. "I really just want this date to go well Olaf. I want her to like me." Elsa hadn't been on a date in a year. She had completely neglected that aspect of her life. She simply hadn't had the time between doing her research and looking into her post-college options.

Olaf smiles as he stands and walks over to Elsa. He places his hands on her shoulders and grips them firmly. He looks into her eyes with a sincere expression. "She's going to like you Elsa. Look at you- tall, fit, blonde, long legs, cold blue eyes- you're the perfect image of Scandinavian beauty. No girl is gonna pass that up." Olaf gives Elsa a wink before turning and picking up a blue dress off of the bed. "I think you should wear this. This color really suits you."

Elsa takes the dress and slips it on before turning and prompting Olaf to zip it. She then walks over to the mirror and looks at her reflection. _I actually don't look half bad. _She gives herself a smile and turns to Olaf. "Seriously, what would I do without you?" He gives her a wink and she walks over to the bathroom.

Elsa braids her hair and begins to twist it into a bun before she is stopped by Olaf. "Maybe you should wear your braid down tonight. You'll look irresistible." He lets out a small laugh. "Maybe you can go all the way tonight." Olaf winks and Elsa opens her mouth pretending to be offended.

She leaves her braid down and begins to fix the front of her hair into a more accommodating look. "I don't appreciate you saying those inappropriate things Olaf. I have no such intentions for tonight."

Olaf snorts at her comment and starts to shake his head. "How long has it been?"

Elsa bites down on her lip and takes in a deep breath. "Too long."

* * *

><p>Elsa walks into the restaurant and tells the host the name on the reservation. He walks her over to a table and her date, Karen, is already seated. Elsa gives her a shy smile. Karen is slightly taller than Elsa with short red hair and big green eyes. She has far too many freckles for a woman of twenty-eight but Elsa thinks they are kind of cute. Elsa takes a seat and clears her throat. "Hi, Karen." Her voice comes out weaker than she intended it to.<p>

Karen gives her a warm smile. "Hi, Elsa. It's nice to see you. You look great."

Elsa takes a deep breath to try to suppress the blush she feels spreading across her cheeks before responding. "Thanks-" She looks down at her hands. "You look great too." She looks up and sticks out her hand to gesture towards Karen, but it collides with a glass of water on the table and sends it toppling over. "Shit." Her eyes widen. "Excuse me- my language. I-I'm so- such a klutz." Elsa stares at Karen with her mouth slightly open, looking for guidance on how to proceed in this situation.

Karen shakes her head and grabs her napkin to soak up the water. "It's okay, Elsa. It's perfectly fine." She lets out a small laugh.

Elsa's hands begin to shake. She can't tell if Karen is laughing at her or at the situation. Either way, it brings to mind memories of all the panic attacks she would have in high school. Her old social anxiety fears come flooding back in and her breathing picks up.

She tries to calm herself. _I know you're embarrassed but conceal. Don't feel. Don't let it show. Try to stay cool. _She shakily smiles at Karen and carefully puts her own napkin over the water, making sure she doesn't knock anything else over.

Elsa tries to say something witty to distract her date from the situation. "Maybe this is one of the things we look back and laugh at."

Karen nods her head. "Yeah-"

"Not that I'm saying we have a future," Elsa interrupts. Her eyes widen. "I mean- not like that…I just didn't want to be presumptuous- this is a first date." Elsa feels her stomach begin to swirl as her nerves start to get the best of her.

Karen nods again. "I know. I know. I totally get what you meant."

Elsa shakes her head. "You're understanding so great." _Crap that wasn't an intelligible sentence. _"I meant to say 'you're so great' but I started to say 'you're understanding' and-" Elsa's phone rings and she quickly grabs it. _Saved by the bell._ She looks to Karen. "I have to take this."

She picks up and hears the sound of Anna's voice. "Hi, coach Askeland."

The younger girl sounds vulnerable and Elsa is no longer excited about getting this call. "Hi, Anna. Is everything okay?"

There is a brief silence before Anna speaks again. "I'm only calling because I have no one else to go to. Hans and I had a fight and we broke up. I sort of walked out, but I don't really have a way home. I was wondering if you could come get me." She pauses as if she's waiting for Elsa to respond, but the older woman remains silent. "I can't call my parents right now.. could you please do this for me?"

Elsa looks up at Karen apologetically. "Yeah.. I can come get you, just tell me where you are."

Anna lets out a sigh of relief on the other end. "You can find me around the corner of 16th and Grandville. Thanks, coach." Anna hangs up the phone.

Elsa looks to Karen. "That was one of my tennis players. She's stranded…"

Karen give Elsa a reassuring smile. "It's okay. Go get her. We can always plan another date. We can maybe pick a place without so many glasses of water to get in your way." She lets out a laugh before continuing. "You really do look beautiful tonight Elsa. It's too bad we won't get to finish the night."

Elsa tilts her head and tries to say sorry with her eyes. "Uhmm, I'll call you and reschedule. Sorry. I have to go. I'm really.. sorry." Elsa looks down and plays with the fabric of her dress.

Karen nods and stands. She walks to Elsa and sticks out her hand to help the blonde to her feet. She takes it and Karen pulls her up into a hug.

Elsa closes her eyes as she takes in the sensation of the other woman's warm body pressed against hers. _It really has been too long. _Karen releases the hug and looks Elsa in the eyes. "I'll talk to you later I guess.. and…you don't have to be so nervous around me. I really like you." Karen bites down on her lip as she blushes and looks down at her shoes.

Elsa feels a big goofy grin spreading across her face. "Yeah… I really like you too."

* * *

><p>Elsa arrives at the corner and she sees Anna standing there wearing nothing but shorts and a tank top. <em>She must be freezing. <em>Elsa rolls down her window and yells to Anna. "Hey Anna, it's me, coach Askeland."

Anna squints at the car for a moment before slowly walking over. She opens the door and climbs in, then begins to put on her seat belt. "Had to make sure you weren't some creep- well you still could be, but I guess I'll just take my chances."

Elsa shakes her head and pulls away from the corner. "Don't worry Anna, I have no intentions of hurting you," she says flatly.

"Yeah I'm sure that's what every creep says." Elsa takes in a quick breath and releases it. She decides it's better if she just doesn't respond to Anna's comments. Her night already wasn't going the way she planned it would and she didn't want to make it worse.

They sit in silence for a while before Anna takes in an impatient breath. She starts fiddling with the lock on the door before turning to Elsa. "So what are you all dressed up for? Hot date?"

"That's none of your business Anna," Elsa says calmly. She can feel the girl's persistent stare on the side of her face, and she knows her answer won't suffice. "Yes. I had a date." _That's not really an over-sharing of information.. Dates are completely natural._

Anna nods her head. "So, is he cute?" Elsa shoots Anna a sharp glare and Anna turns her face back towards the front of the car. "Sorry, I just broke up with my boyfriend. Excuse me for trying to live vicariously through you." Anna sits quietly for a moment before starting to tap her fingers on the dashboard. She starts to speak quietly, more to herself, than to Elsa. "It's not like your dating life would be great anyway."

Elsa bites down on her lip. She decides to answer Anna's question for her sanity and the sake of making it through this car ride. "He was uhm.. he was attractive. Yeah." _Okay Elsa, no more talking. This has already gone too far. _Elsa tries to think of a way to change the subject.

A smile spreads across Anna's face and she turns back towards Elsa. "Were you two going to have sex," she blurts out, much to Elsa's surprise.

"Anna-" Elsa's eyes widen.

"I'm just saying like it had to be a possibility. I mean you're not unattractive- at least not for your age... I guess. He probably wanted to you know…" Anna forms a circle with her thumb and index finger on one hand and sticks a finger from her other hand through it.

Elsa takes in a sharp breath as she takes her eyes off the road for a moment to look at Anna. "No. It was our first date, and she's a very classy and respectful person…the subject didn't- I don't have to answer these questions." She turns back toward the road.

Anna sits quietly for a moment and then she lifts a brow at Elsa. "She?"

"What?"

Anna clears her throat. "You said she."

Elsa sits perfectly still at the realization of her slip. If it wasn't for her eyes being open wide enough to actually roll out of her head had she so much as sneezed, anyone would have thought she was perfectly composed. She opens her mouth to speak but it suddenly goes dry. She closes it and swallows before attempting again. "That was an accident. I meant he."

Anna starts to laugh. "No you didn't_._" She shakes her head. "Don't make a big deal about it. You act like I've never talked to a gay person before. How did you meet?"

Elsa takes in a deep breath. She knows it's unprofessional to talk about her dating life with a student, but the events of the night were fresh on her mind, and she wanted to let out her thoughts. "I worked in a lab for a while, mostly helping PhD students with their research. There was this woman, Karen, who also worked in the lab and we sort of hit it off-"

Anna starts to laugh and she runs a hand through hair. Elsa looks over as they pass under a street light and the glow falls perfectly over Anna's face, showing off her freckles. Elsa realizes she's biting her lip and she quickly pulls it from under her teeth. _It's definitely been way too long. _Anna looks back at Elsa. "You hit it off?"

Elsa looks to Anna apprehensively. "What?" Elsa stares at Anna for a moment before it registers in her mind, what Anna was speaking of. "Oh! There was this lab party two weeks ago for everyone who graduated, and I uhhh, I managed to get her number."

Anna starts to chuckle. "Did you like her before the party, or were you just blinded by your beer goggles?"

Elsa clears her throat, and grips the steering wheel tighter. She doesn't know why, but for some reason she can't get her fingers to stop shaking. "I thought she was actually a pretty nice woman- quiet and private about herself, but always composed, with a ready smile."

Anna turns in her seat to get a better look at Elsa. "Why do you speak so formally about her, like you don't know her?"

Elsa clears her throat and keeps her eyes on the road. "She was uhm- it's just a habit. She already had her PhD, so I mostly speak about her out of respect, at least normally... I guess we're more familiar." Elsa's palms begin to sweat.

"Oh, so you like 'em older then," Anna asks teasingly. She smirks at Elsa.

Elsa can feel her cheeks beginning to heat up and she tries to draw Anna's attention away from her blushing by continuing to talk. "She was really nice. She didn't treat her research assistants like slaves, but she wasn't one of those crazy saccharine types either. When she asked me to call her Karen instead of Dr. Faulkner, it didn't seem patronizing in the least bit."

Anna rolls her eyes and turns back toward the front of the car. "This story just got boring." She reaches out and turns the radio on and switches it to a popular station. She turns to Elsa. "I love this song." A smile spreads across Anna's face. "This was the song that played when Hans and I-" Anna stops abruptly and a look of disappointment spreads across her face. She silently turns to stare out of the window.

Elsa looks over at Anna. "So.. You said you needed a tennis scholarship to go to college, but I'm pretty sure that's not true."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that you lied to me," Elsa says dryly.

Anna turns to Elsa and rolls her eyes. "Are you upset because I lied to you, or because you're the only person on the planet who didn't know who my parents were?"

Elsa shakes her head. "It doesn't matter to me who your parents are. I just want the team to be as good as possible." The space between the two grows silent. Elsa looks over at Anna and notices the sad expression on her face. She wonders if it was something she said. _It's so hard tiptoeing around the emotions of teenagers. _Elsa clears her throat and begins to tap her fingers on the steering wheel. She finally decides to break the silence. "What's wrong, Anna?"

Anna lets out a sigh and begins to speak as if she was just waiting for Elsa to prompt her with the question. "Hans was only dating me because he thought it would help him get an internship at my Dad's company." She pauses and looks away. "I just want a guy who respects me, and likes me for me. Is that too much to ask for?"


	4. How's that for Placement?

"Anna, make sure you keep the ball in your sight line when you make contact."

Elsa watches as Anna rallies against another girl from the team. She tries to offer the younger girl some advice on her technique. Their first game of the season is going to be against one of the best schools in their division and Elsa doesn't want to take any chances; she wants her team to come out on top.

"Will you chill out coach? I got this," Anna yells back, continuing the match.

Elsa wants the team to be ready- especially Anna. Her game hasn't been up to par lately and Elsa is pushing her harder than the rest, because she knows the younger girl is capable.

Anna grits her teeth as she swings her racket and misses the ball. She then curses under her breath as she steps away from the court, sweat dripping down the side of her face.

Elsa steps forward, getting in better speaking range. "Anna, keep your eye-"

Before Elsa can finish her sentence, Anna violently flings her racket against the fence. Elsa instinctively flenches, thanking the heavens that the fence was between her and the racket. _Was she trying to hit me? _Elsa gulps as she tries to figure out how to handle this situation

Anna angrily runs a hand through her hair as she storms off the court. "If you're so damn _perfect_, why don't you get in there and show me what needs to be done," she says through clenched teeth, gesturing toward the court.

Elsa takes in a breath and tries to remain calm. Anna has been consistently making Elsa's life harder. The older woman can't figure out exactly why the younger girl gets under her skin so much. She tries speaking to Anna as calmly as possible. "I'm just trying to help you, Anna."

Anna rolls her eyes. "Well you can _help_ me by shutting up. Your yelling is so distracting. I can easily beat her if you're not constantly barking out commands." Anna walks back into the court and picks up her racket, the other girl still waiting patiently for Anna to return to the match.

Elsa sets her clipboard on the ground and begins to roll up her khaki pants. She then picks up a spare racket and enters the court, motioning Anna's partner away. She looks at the younger girl as she makes her way to the opposite side of the net. "You're good Anna, but there are certain parts of your game you still need to work on."

Just as Elsa gets into position Anna lets out an exasperated breath and unexpectedly serves the ball. Elsa, quick on her reflexes, returns the serve to the opposite side of the court. Anna rushes over to return it, but comes up short, her racket barely missing the yellow sphere. "Lucky shot," she says dryly as she picks up another ball.

Elsa shakes her head. "No, Anna. It's all about placement. Even when you're going after it like that, you have to stay in control."

Anna drops her hands by her side in a display of anger. "Like I don't fucking know that. I can hit the ball if you stop pissing me off."

Elsa nods her head, still trying to remain calm. "Okay. I'll stop talking and we can just let our playing speak for us. I was only reminding you that ball placement is crucial."

Anna walks to the back edge of the court and gently tosses the ball in the air. She then brings her racket down hard, slapping the ball into Elsa's side of the court. Elsa returns it and Anna grunts as she aggressively slaps the ball back toward Elsa. The older woman realizes too late that the ball is heading straight for her face.

Elsa closes her eyes as the ball makes contact and she feels the sting that accompanies getting knocked in the face. She stumbles back and brings her hand to her nose, the racket toppling to the ground. She then opens her eyes, staring down at the blood slowly covering her hands.

"How's that for placement," she hears Anna mutter as she throws her racket and walks off the court. The other girls stop playing and all turn to look at Elsa. She starts to panic.

Elsa feels like she's losing control, and she knows what normally accompanies that feeling. She wants to avoid having a panic attack in front of the prying eyes of all of these high school girls.

She cups her nose and runs off the court, trying to find a first aid kit, or a tissue, or a cloth. She realizes all of that is probably back in the building so she heads toward the gym office to look for it. She realizes how she must look -running away from this situation- but none of that matters to her anymore.

When she makes it inside of the building she feels her pockets, realizing she left the keys to the office outside. _Fuck. _She doesn't want to go back out there. She _isn't_ going to go back out there.

By this time blood is running down her arm and she decides to just use her shirt. She lifts the garment and places it over her nose. She then closes her eyes and leans back against a wall, taking in a breath through her mouth as a tear rolls down her cheek._ I don't know what to do anymore._ The thought gently glides through her head, bringing more tears to her eyes.

Before she can sulk anymore, Elsa hears soft footsteps approaching her and she opens her eyes, finding Anna standing in front of her. The younger girl smirks and looks down. "Nice bra, coach."

Elsa quickly looks down, releasing her shirt. Blood continues to leak from her nose and she tries to wipe it away with her cleaner hand. Anna raises the office keys. "I thought you might need these." She walks forward and places them into the door, opening it.

Elsa walks into the office and looks around for something to stop the bleeding before giving up and just dropping down into the desk chair. The blood has finally stopped flowing from her nose, so the issue doesn't seem as pressing. She puts her head down on the desk as tears continue to flow from her eyes.

After a couple of minutes she feels her head being lifted and she sees Anna reaching a wet cloth out toward her face. She lifts her hand toward the cloth but Anna pushes it away. "Calm down, I got this." Anna says, her voice soft. "It's just a bloody nose. You didn't have to start crying." Elsa opens her mouth to protest but Anna lets out a small sigh. "I'm sorry coach. I didn't mean to hurt you... I guess I didn't think that through. I really messed up this time, didn't I?"

Elsa still has tears pooled in her eyes as she looks up at the younger girl sitting on the desk. Anna continues to gently wipe the blood from her face. Elsa tries to speak but she can't manage to get the words past the lump in her throat so she just nods.

Anna nods in return. "I figured that." She finishes with Elsa's nose and starts to wipe the blood from around her mouth. "I have a small temper problem… in case you haven't noticed. I just don't like being told what to do all the time." Anna finishes Elsa's face and she gets off the desk to fetch another cloth to wet. She finds one and heads toward the sink. "You don't do so well when you get overwhelmed, do you?" she asks over her shoulder. There is genuine concern in Anna's voice.

Elsa clears her throat. "You hit me in the face with a tennis ball!" she says angrily. She refrains from saying anything else so she can attempt to regain her composure.

Anna returns with a fresh wet cloth and she hands it to Elsa. Elsa begins to wipe her arms and Anna sits back down on the edge of the desk. "Tennis is all I'm good at and you just went out there and made me look like shit. You're better than me, okay? Is that what you want to hear? I'm just the spoiled rich brat who will never amount to anything more than being my father's daughter. You treat me differently than you treat the other girls. You don't even try to hide the fact that you hate me."

Elsa shakes her head. "I never said that Anna. I'm only hard on you because I think you have _so_ much potential, yet your attitude completely negates all of that. I don't hate you. I just want to see you succeed."

Anna presses her lips into a hard line before letting out another sigh. "Thanks." She rolls her eyes. "I'm really sorry I hit you and stuff. Do what you need- suspend me or whatever… but do me a favor, and stop trying to change me. I think I was doing just fine before you showed up here."

"Anna-"

"No," Anna interrupts. "I _know_ you're TFA. In two years you won't be a teacher anymore, and you'll be off trying to do whatever it is that you really want to do. Can you please stop acting like you give a shit? If you agree to stop being so hard on me, or trying to push me to be a better person or whatever- I'll stay out of your hair. You're the coach, and I'm the player. When the season is over, you won't even know I exist. Just let me do my thing. _Please_."

Elsa finishes cleaning her arm and she drops the cloth in the trash. She nods her head. "That sounds like a great plan to me. I had this weird idea that I could make a difference in my student's lives, but you're right- I'm not doing anyone any good. You've got a deal- as long as you give me your best effort out there."

Elsa stands to leave, but Anna remains in her place. She grabs Elsa's arm and looks up to her. "I'm sorry I've been so rude to you, coach. Its been a while since-" She looks away. "I know I might have scared you when I called you that night. I really appreciate you picking me up." She pauses. "If it helps… I have a date with a pretty nice guy- like genuinely interested in me. His name's Kristoff. I'll be okay coach. Thanks for caring." She gives Elsa a small smile before jumping off the desk and walking out of the office.


	5. Professional

Elsa opens the tupperware container in front of her and takes out the sandwich she packed for lunch. She bites down into it and closes her eyes as a small moan escapes her throat. She skipped breakfast so she has been waiting to get to this sandwich all day. She actually enjoys the small bit of quiet time she gets during her lunch hour. She prefers to eat in her emptied classroom, rather than the teacher's lounge.

Her peaceful silence is interrupted by a knock on the door. Elsa looks over and Anna peeks her head in. "Are you busy coach Askeland?"

Elsa shakes her head. "No, I'm just eating lunch. Do you need help with anything?"

Anna smiles and walks in with a red folder in her hands. Elsa places her sandwich back in the container as she tries to wipe the crumbs off of her hands onto her pants. Anna smirks as she watches her. "Classy." Her eyes then widen and she stops walking. "Crap. Sorry. Sometimes I speak before I think.. or something."

Elsa smiles up at Anna and sighs. "It's okay," she says reassuringly. "What do you need help with?"

Anna grabs a chair and pulls it to the side of Elsa's desk. She then places the folder down and opens it. "We're doing calorimetry in Chemistry, and I'm having sort of a hard time with it, and you're a science teacher, so I thought you'd maybe be able to help."

Elsa reaches over and grabs the worksheet Anna has pulled out of her folder. She looks over it for a moment. _Jeez, haven't taken Gen Chem since freshman year. _She reaches in her desk drawer and pulls out a pen and a sheet of paper to begin working out a problem. Anna watches her expectantly.

Elsa begins to speak as she writes. "Well you have to start with your formula. q equals the specific heat, multiplied by the-"

"I don't actually need help," Anna interrupts. Elsa looks up from the paper she has been writing on and Anna starts to tap her fingers on the desk. "I uhm, I feel really _really _bad about what happened in practice, and I just want to apologize... again. I feel like we got off to a bad start, and... I've been pretty rude to you, and you haven't... you've been kinda cool about it."

Elsa nods and sets her pen on the desk. _Whoa, is she actually apologizing? Maybe I'm getting through to her. _"Maybe we can just put the past behind us, and start over," she chimes, optimistically.

Anna nods vigorously. "Okay! So... I'm sort of nervous about college applications and stuff. Do you have any tips, because like everyone here is like six hundred years old and they have no clue about the modern application system."

Elsa starts to chuckle. "Yeah.. uhm try your best and hope you get lucky."

Anna starts laughing. "Is that really the best you've got? That was some grade A advice right there. Remind me to come to you with all of my problems."

Elsa shakes her head. "Okay, okay. I get it... but honestly try to find the one thing you stand out in and play up on that. As far as test scores and grades- everyone is applying with straight A's and high SATs. You have to be different in a new way now. Honestly, kids are just becoming superhuman. Which colleges are you looking at?"

"There are the ones my parents really want me to go to," Anna says with a shrug.

Elsa watches as Anna becomes visibly upset. _I do not miss the college process. _"Okay, Anna. How about you do a little homework for me? Find five colleges you're interested in, and we can talk during lunch tomorrow and try to figure out what they want for their application."

Anna gives Elsa a genuine smile as she nods her head. "I'd like that. People always tell me where I _need_ to go, but no one really asks where I _want_ to go." Anna stops speaking and the space between them grows silent. Anna looks around and begins to rock in her chair as Elsa picks at her food. Anna finally breaks the silence. "So did you go on another date with that woman?"

Elsa looks up from her sandwich and her eyes widen in shock. "Anna, you can't ask me questions like that."

Anna recoils a bit and starts to put the papers back into the her red folder. "Right. Sorry. You're a teacher, and I'm a student. You're just so young- I feel like I can talk to you about anything."

Elsa sticks her hand out to stop Anna from packing up. She rests her hand on top of the girls and Anna pauses, looking up. Elsa takes in a breath. "You _can_ talk to me about anything- I just can't share details about that part of my life with you. I know we're pretty close in age, but I still have to be a professional."

"No, I get it," Anna says flatly. "You don't need to explain anything to me." She pulls her hand from under Elsa's and she grabs her folder and quickly stands.

Elsa stands with her and places a hand on her arm. "Hey. We were making progress here. Don't fall back into disliking me so quickly. I'm not withholding information about my dating life because I feel like you're a kid or anything, I just... I could lose my job for being too personal or something, and that would be bad."

Anna blinks rapidly as she turns her head away from Elsa. "It's not like I'd tell anyone or anything."

"Anna-"

"Fine," Anna sighs. She turns around and places her folder back on the desk, before taking a seat in the chair once more. "I won't ask about your dating life, okay?" She lets out a small laugh. "Probably not exciting anyway." Elsa takes a seat and rolls her eyes and Anna laughs some more. "Wow did you _really_ just roll your eyes at me? That's professional."

Elsa takes in a resigned breath and shakes her head. "We need boundaries, Anna. I'm not one of your friends-"

"Really? I was sort of hoping we could be friends," Anna replies, her voice taking on a more serious tone. She looks down at her hands as she starts to twist her fingers together.

Anna is switching from hot to cold so fast, that Elsa isn't sure if she can keep up. She doesn't know what the younger girl is feeling, but there's probably something that she's dealing with, and maybe she doesn't have anyone to talk to about it.

There's also one other problem- Elsa wants to remain professional, but it's impossible while Anna has that look on her face.

_She's so cute. _

It is a thought about how adorable Anna is, for a student. That's all it is, or at least all that Elsa hopes it is. She goes to dismiss the thought, but she notices a pattern. This isn't the first time she's had a thought like that about Anna. _Jesus Christ Elsa, she's a student. She. Is. A. Student._

Elsa thinks over the amount of times Anna has been rude to her, and how she has just blown it off like it was nothing. She probably wouldn't have taken that from _any_ other student. She runs a hand through her hair at the sudden realization. _I'm probably just having weird thoughts,_ she thinks,_ Everyone has weird thoughts. The point is to not act on them. _

Acting on those thoughts isn't even an option. Elsa scolds herself for even thinking about it in the first place. She notices Anna getting up from her chair and realizes she hasn't responded to the younger girl's request about being friends. She goes to speak but Anna starts talking first.

"It's okay coach Askeland. I understand you need to be professional. I just wanted to apologize about what happened at practice." Anna quickly grabs her folder and heads out the door before Elsa gets a chance to respond.

Elsa closes her eyes in defeat and places her head down on her desk. _Nice going Elsa. Your student wants to reach out to you and you sit here like a freaking creep thinking about how cute she is. _

The problem is probably just the fact that she hasn't been in a relationship in so long. She's probably longing for that type of connection with another person, and her mind is just latching on to everyone who even remotely _seems _like a candidate.

Elsa gets an idea and she lifts her head from the desk. She reaches in her pocket to pull out her phone and she dials Karen's number. She then puts the phone to her ear. "Hey, Karen. It's Elsa."


	6. Dark Horse

Elsa shifts her shoulder sling to alleviate some of the pressure around her neck. She lets out an exasperated sigh once she realizes it's no use, no matter how much she fiddles with it.

She can't figure out why she let Karen convince her that rock climbing was a good idea for a second date- she couldn't even handle a glass of water on their first date. She also can't figure out why she agreed to chaperone this fall mixer.

Elsa closes her eyes and brings the hand on her free arm up to massage her temples. She doesn't know how she's going to make it through four hours of loud pop music.

_If they play another Katy Perry song, I swear I'll flip a chair_ over, she thinks, and she means every word.

She had never even attended the dances that were thrown back when she was in high school.

As if God is trying to punish her, Dark Horse by Katy Perry starts to play. Elsa angrily lifts her head, just to see Anna walking into the dance, hanging on the arm of Kristoff.

Anna is wearing all black six-inch platform pumps and a tight fitting all black strapless dress. Her strawberry blonde hair is curled and draped over her shoulders.

Elsa's mouth goes dry. She tries to look away but she can't seem to peel her eyes from the stunning image of Anna in party attire. The school uniform really doesn't do Anna justice.

_I'm definitely attracted to her. There's no denying it now._

She can't lie to herself anymore, or make up excuses. Even mental scolding or constant reminders about how wrong it is won't make the attraction go away.

She turns away and blinks rapidly as if she's trying to erase the vision of Anna, but it's no use. She then closes her eyes and rubs her temples once more. This night just got even longer. Not only does she have to listen to loud pop music, but now she has the added bonus of trying to control inappropriate thoughts about one of her students, while constantly being in the younger girl's presence.

Elsa lets out a sigh as the thought goes through her mind.

When she opens her eyes Anna is standing right in front of her. Her gaze is filled with concern and Elsa can't figure out why. Actually, Elsa can't think much of _anything_ in this moment. She's completely speechless staring into Anna's beautiful teal eyes.

She lets her eyes venture over Anna's face and she notices the younger girl is wearing pink lip gloss and mascara.

_She looks even more beautiful up close._

That thought confirmed what she had just been fretting over. This would, in fact, be the longest night of her life.

"What happened to you," Anna asks, her words cutting through Elsa's thoughts. There's an urgency to her voice that rings through the older woman's head.

Elsa's mind blanks and she can't figure out what Anna is talking about. "Wha- ah, I don't know what you-" She gives up and shakes her head because she can't form a proper sentence.

Anna nods as she leans in closer to the older woman. Elsa's senses are overwhelmed by Anna's smell and the fact that she can feel the delicious heat radiating from the younger girl's body. Anna starts to shout into her ear. "Did you hear me?" Elsa remains silent, afraid to breathe- afraid to be drawn into Anna's sweet smell.

Anna grabs her hand and starts to lead her toward the hallway. After a few steps she stops abruptly and leans back toward Elsa's ear. "Breathe, coach. You're looking a little pale." Elsa does as she's commanded and Anna gives her a smile that almost makes her knees give away.

They make it into the hallway, away from the loud music, and Anna speaks again. "What happened to your arm, coach?"

Elsa looks down at her arm as if she is just now realizing that it is in a sling. She closes her eyes as her senses start to come back to her. She nods. "Rock climbing," she says matter-of-factly, as she opens her eyes again.

Anna's eyes widen with concern as she tentatively reaches toward Elsa's damaged shoulder. "Are you okay? What happened? Why were you rock climbing?"

Elsa opens her mouth to speak, but Kristoff enters the hallway. "There you are Anna, you wandered off." He walks over to Anna and drapes an arm around her shoulder before looking down at Elsa. "Whoa, what happened to your shoulder Ms. Askeland?" He asks, genuinely concerned.

Elsa responds by offering a shy smile and Anna speaks for her. "She went rock climbing and got hurt somehow," she states, her eyes never leaving Elsa's.

Elsa stares wordlessly at the couple for a moment, before logic begins to return to her mind.

_She's your student, Elsa. Calm down. _

She shakes her head and stares up at Kristoff, avoiding looking at Anna any longer. "You two go enjoy your night, I'll be fine. The doctor said it isn't too bad."

Elsa glances at Anna and tries to give her a reassuring smile. Anna's eyes filll with some emotion that Elsa can't figure out, along with what she can only guess to be anger. "You need to be more careful," Anna snaps.

Elsa takes a step back at the sudden outburst. Kristoff pulls Anna into him. "Babe, I know she's your coach, but cut her some slack. Accidents happen. Just be thankful this one wasn't too bad, and she'll still be around to coach the team. I'm sure she's not trying to purposely leave you girls hanging in the middle of the season." Kristoff gives Elsa a smile, and she can't help but smile back. Kristoff then begins to pull Anna back toward the dance, but she is reluctant to move. "C'mon Anna, lets not bother Ms. Askeland anymore. Like she said, lets just enjoy the night."

Anna finally breaks eye contact with Elsa as she turns to walk back toward the dance. Elsa waits for them to disappear through the doors to the gym before turning and heading towards the restroom.

When she enters she goes to the sink and splashes some water on her face. _What just happened? _She had never felt that kind of attraction to anyone in her life.

She looks at her reflection in the mirror and lets out a sigh. _Don't mess this up Elsa, you need this job to get into med school. _That thought gives her enough confidence to re-enter the dance. She wasn't going to let anything -or anyone- mess up her chances of getting into medical school.


	7. Conceal

"_How to Get Over a Crush_? Think you'll get rid of me that easily?"

Elsa lowers the book she had been engrossed in for the past fifteen minutes to find Anna standing in front of her. She quickly snaps the book shut and shoves it under her arm, wincing at the slight pain coming from her still healing shoulder. "No-" Elsa clears her throat to buy herself some time to search for an excuse. "It's not about you. It's uhm-" She takes in a deep breath. _  
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Anna smiles. "I know, coach. It was just a joke," she says sounding slightly amused.

Elsa sighs as she places the book back on the shelf. She presses her lips together and looks down at her hands, trying to find an appropriate way to move forward with this conversation. After a moment she settles on keeping it simple. She looks up to Anna. "Different look today."

Anna grabs onto her shirt and lets out a small laugh. "Yeah, I decided to try out my flannel collection today... and I've always liked putting my hair into two braids- it's sort of a go-to style." She clears her throat and pauses for a moment. "I'm actually out here because I was hoping I wouldn't see anyone I know. There are closer malls, ya know?"

"I didn't mean anything by the comment," Elsa says apologetically. "I think you look great." _Elsa, slow it down._ She needed to get a grip on herself. It was becoming harder and harder to control how she felt when she was around Anna. It had been two weeks since the dance, and she finally accepted that these weren't feelings she could just shake away. She tried talking less to Anna, or avoiding looking at her all together- but none of that had worked. She looks around nervously before attempting to continue. "I mean you're like objectively an attractive girl... er, woman-"

Anna tries to stifle a laugh as she watches Elsa struggle to form a coherent thought. "I get what you mean," she finally chimes in after about a minute of listening to Elsa ramble. She turns and nods toward the door. "What do you say we uhm, go get some coffee? I know this really amazing place, and if you're out here, you might as well try it."

Elsa wraps her arms around her torso and begins to shake her leg. _This is exactly the type of situation I don't need to get in to._ "I'm not that big on coffee." _Actually I am, I'm just not that big on being alone with you. _Elsa shakes the thought away, afraid that it might show on her face.

Anna lifts her brow. "They also have tea.. and before you reject that- they have smoothies, water, lemonade- the list goes on." She reaches for Elsa's arm. "Don't be such a grinch, come have some coffee, coach." Elsa tries to think of another excuse to get out of this, but other than having to tell Anna that she just doesn't want to do it, she comes up with nothing. She finally acquiesces and follows Anna out of the book store to the top corner of the mall, where there sits a small inconspicuous coffee shop. "If you weren't looking for it, you'd miss it," Anna says to Elsa with a grin.

They enter and Elsa orders a tea and Anna gets a coffee. When they retrieve their drinks they sit down in a dimly lit corner at a small table. Elsa searches her brain for a good conversation starter. She decides she should talk about tennis, in hopes of stopping this conversation from devolving into talking about their personal lives.

It wasn't as if Elsa had much of one nowadays. Ever since she had seen Anna in that dress two weeks ago she hadn't talked much with Karen, and she couldn't keep Anna off her mind. She swirls her tea a few times before starting. "So you're undefeated this season... is that normal for you, or is this a first?" _I bet she could talk for days about how great she is._

Anna starts to laugh. "This is normal for me. High school tennis isn't even a challenge anymore. I'm like Beyonce in a room full of Rebecca Blacks." Anna bites down on her lip to stop herself from laughing too hard at her own joke.

Elsa smiles as her eyes drop to Anna's lips. She catches herself staring and quickly looks up. _Conceal, don't feel, Elsa. It works when you're panicking so it should work now._ She tries to appear calm when she responds. "Yeah, uhm... I really like your modesty. It's very admirable."

Anna's eyes widen. "Sarcasm," she exclaims. "Coach Askeland I do believe I am rubbing off on you." Anna smiles and gives Elsa a wink. Elsa looks down. The smile leaves Anna's face and she takes in a breath. "You've been one of the better coaches I've had. I thought I knew everything to know about tennis, but you managed to teach me some new skills. That takes talent." Elsa blushes into her tea before covering her face with her hands. Anna's smile returns. "Jeez coach, learn how to take a compliment."

That does it for Elsa. She needs a moment to cool off. _I knew this was a bad idea. _Elsa pushes her tea aside and promptly gets up from the table. "Sorry, I need to use the restroom." She gives Anna an apologetic look before quickly heading away from the table.

When she enters the restroom she goes into a stall and leans her back against the wall. _Why does she have this effect on me?_ Elsa attempts to collect herself through deep breathing. _You can do this. You're just having coffee. Nothing else. She just wants to spend time with her coach. _When she finally gets herself together she reaches for the stall door and opens it. She walks out of the stall to find Anna standing by the sinks, watching her intently.

There's a darkness in Anna's eyes as they silently stare at each other. Elsa isn't sure what to say or think, she just stares back. Anna bites down on her lip and continues to stare at Elsa heatedly. "I feel it too," Anna breathes out. Her voice is low and filled with passion. Those four words cut through the tension between them, and suddenly everything is out in the open.

Elsa tries to think of anything but Anna's soft welcoming lips, but she can't manage to find another thought. She tries to fight the monster that's growing inside of her but the longer Anna stares at her, the harder the battle becomes. Suddenly it breaks loose and Elsa is filled with pure unadulterated lust... but it's more than that. She _cares _about Anna. She _wants_ Anna.

In one smooth swoop Elsa closes the distance between them and her mouth collides with Anna's. She runs her tongue across Anna's lips, catching the lower one between her teeth and gently nibbling. This causes Anna to open her mouth slightly and Elsa takes this as an invitation to move deeper into the kiss.

She wraps one arm around Anna's back as she lifts her, pushing her onto the sink. Her other hand slips beneath Anna's shirt, exploring her skin.

Anna wraps her legs around Elsa and tangles her fingers into her platinum blonde curls.

Elsa can't remember having ever enjoying a kiss this much, or having such intense feelings for anyone. She runs her hand across Anna's stomach and stops near her navel. She feels something hard and takes it between her fingers, rolling it around. Anna breaks the kiss slightly and moans, "Piercing," into Elsa's mouth.

Elsa then continues moving her hands over Anna's body. She trails kisses down Anna's chin as she gently tilts the younger girl's head back. She begins making her way down Anna's neck before stopping abruptly.

She realizes what she's doing while her lips are planted firmly in the center of Anna's neck. The moment of unfaltering passion has passed and she is left with the reality of her careless actions.

Anna realizes what's happening and she tries to pull Elsa closer to her, letting her know that it's okay, but her efforts are fruitless. Elsa releases Anna and takes a few steps back. She looks into Anna's eyes, horrified.

_No, no, no. What the hell am I doing? This isn't concealing! This is the opposite of concealing!_

Her breathing picks up and the air in the room grows thin. _I need to get out of here. _"I'm so sorry," she breathlessly whispers to Anna as she starts to back away.

"Elsa, wait. No," Anna yells as Elsa runs from the restroom. Anna jumps from the sink and angrily slaps the wall as she lets out a growl. She had finally said Elsa's name. She liked how it felt coming out of her mouth, but now Elsa is gone. She is running away and Anna doesn't know how to stop her.

Elsa walks as fast as she can, without running, out of the coffee shop. She walks down the moving escalator and heads toward the parking garage. When she reaches her car she gets in and puts on her seat belt. She goes to put the keys in, but her hands are shaking so much that she drops them. She tries to take a deep breath to calm herself but her breath hitches and a small whimper escapes from her throat. She leans her head against the steering wheel as tears begin to fall down her cheeks. _You really messed up this time. _Elsa clutches her jeans with her hands as she starts to sob.

She planned to come out here to get away from everyone and everything, and now her life was ruined. _I'm so dumb. How could I do that? I know better. _She hears the passenger door click, and she looks over to see Anna getting into the car. She hadn't even noticed Anna was following her._  
><em>

Anna doesn't look at Elsa. She keeps her eyes forward as she sits down in the seat next to her. Elsa notices that Anna's jaw is clenched and her breathing is rugged. _She looks pissed._ Elsa tries to speak but Anna starts first. "No," she says harshly, continuing to look ahead. "You don't get to speak right now. I'm gonna cut the shit because we've been tip-toeing around this elephant for a while now." She finally looks at Elsa, anger glowering in her eyes. "You avoid making eye contact with me and you hold your breath every time I walk by. You keep conversations between us short, and you barely even give me tips on my games anymore. You stare at my lips the entire time during conversations, yet you always scold me for being unprofessional."

"Anna I'm so sorry," Elsa says through her sobs.

Anna keeps going, ignoring Elsa. "I knew from the first time you looked up at me that you liked me- you weren't even attempting to hide it- the way you started awkwardly fumbling all over yourself... and _now_ you _kiss_ me and try to leave me to figure this shit out on my own in a coffee shop restroom."

Elsa wipes her eyes and tries to compose herself. "I know Anna. I'm so sorry. We can't do this. I'm your-"

"I know you're my teacher, but you're also only three years older than me." Anna's eyes soften and Elsa can tell just how much she's hurting. "I get it. I don't think you're weird or creepy or any of that. You keep telling me I'm crossing boundaries or that you can't talk about or do certain things with me... but your words can only go so far when your actions are clearly screaming something else. I've been in enough bad relationships to know that I don't deserve this. I don't deserve any of this. I don't deserve having all of these signals sent in my direction just to be slapped down when I pick one up." Anna turns away from Elsa and looks out the car window.

"I know this is my fault," Elsa tries to explain. She wants to convey just how sorry she is to Anna, but there are no words that can even begin to take back her actions. She really had gone too far.

Anna starts to speak softly, more to herself than to Elsa. "Kristoff is amazing to me. My family loves him. I think one day I may be able to fall in love with him." She turns back to Elsa. "But I also know that just one look from you, or one word could make me give all of that up, because I really like you. I just want you to know that I deserve to be happy and if you aren't completely certain that you're willing to fully commit to anything with me, you should stop this. If you have any feelings for me at all, you'll stop this. You'll stop doing what you've been doing and you will let me finish this year in peace, no matter how hard it is." A silent tear falls down Anna's cheek. "Stop dropping those little hints, or staring at me like I'm the only person in a room."

Elsa remains silent. She doesn't know what to think, or how to properly respond to this situation. She hadn't realized how much her actions had been affecting Anna. She had been careless with her feelings and now Anna was the one paying for it emotionally. _How could I do this? _Elsa turns toward the front of the car. She closes her eyes and leans her head back against the seat.

Anna leans forward and scratches at her jeans. "I guess I'm just trying to say... If you want me, you can have me. I won't pretend that I can fight what I feel for you if you actively pursue me. I'm just... I'm just leaving it up to you to decide whether or not that is the best idea. I know it's a tough choice, but I trust you to make the right decision." Anna opens the car door and gets out of the car.


	8. It Doesn't Have to be a Snowman

Elsa searches through the panicking crowds trying to get a glimpse of Anna. For some reason she couldn't manage to spot the girl who normally jumped out for her in any crowd.

She pushes past a few people trying to make her way to a better vantage point but she is grabbed by a strong hand and spun around. She looks up into the eyes of Kristoff. He looks down at her and she can sense something's wrong. "Anna's out there." He says the words, but Elsa isn't sure if she's hearing him correctly.

She shakes her head. "What do you mean she's out there? Do you mean like outside, or-"

Kristoff grabs Elsa's arms very firmly and she takes in a sharp breath. "No. I mean during the hike back she turned around with some other students and went back to the cabin. When I asked them where she was, they said she had stayed behind. I think she's still in the cabin. I can't find her anywhere."

He runs a hand through his hair and starts to pace. His movements are making Elsa even more nervous than she already is. They were on a senior hiking trip. The trail wasn't too bad, very beginner friendly… but no one expected a snow storm of this magnitude to hit in October.

Even if the trail wasn't that bad, no one would be able to get through it while the storm was in full swing. Elsa looks down at her watch. "The storm will be here in an hour," she says more to herself than to Kristoff.

He shakes his head. "I know. I need to go get her. I need to go."

Kristoff starts to walk off, but Elsa runs behind him and grabs his arm. "I can't let you do that Kristoff. You're a student, and as your teacher, I can't allow you to put your life in danger. You need to get on that bus and head to somewhere safe with the rest of your class… I'll go get Anna."

"You can't-"

"Kristoff I grew up in the mountains in Norway," she says reassuringly. "I'll make it to her, and make sure she's okay. I need you to promise me you'll get on that bus, because the longer I stay here convincing you, the more time I'll lose before the storm hits."

Kristoff looks off into the distance, before nodding reluctantly. He unexpectedly grabs Elsa into a hug and grips her to his chest. "Save Anna… but more importantly, be careful." He holds onto the hug for a few more seconds, before releasing her and heading toward where the other students are waiting.

Elsa runs a shaky hand through her hair. _I grew up in the mountains. This is nothing. I can handle this. _She tries to reassure herself that this is a good idea. She knew no one else would be willing to go up there, even if she explained a student was trapped. She decides that she should just start moving before she has a chance to over-think anything.

She walks through the busy building and heads into the equipment shop. She doesn't waste any time. She grabs a backpack and throws in the essentials she will need for the hike, as well as things she might need in case Anna is hurt. _What if Anna isn't okay? _The thought stops her in her tracks and she has to take a moment to calm her breathing.

She grabs some micro spikes for her hiking boots, in hopes that it'll make it easier to get through the snow once the storm is in full swing. She hands the bag of equipment to the cashier and waits as he rings her up. "I hope you're not thinking about going out there," he says to her. She looks up and gives him a small shrug before grabbing her equipment off the counter and heading out of the shop.

When she makes it outside she puts the spikes around her boots and zips up her coat. She then puts on her hat, scarf, and gloves. It's frosty outside and beginning to flurry, but the weather isn't too bad yet. She grabs her trekking pole, and begins to head toward the trail.

She makes it to the trail and notices that a layer of soft snow has already covered the ground. She takes in a deep breath before setting off. It normally took about an hour and a half to make it up the trail, so accounting for the snow and it being dark- she was going to allow herself at least double that time. This meant she was going to have to walk through the storm.

Elsa starts the slow trek up the trail as she shakes her head. _How could they leave her behind? I know they're teenagers, but they can't be that dumb. Who let them go off without supervision? _Elsa had a million questions running through her head, but none of them mattered.

The fact was- Anna was most likely still in the cabin or worse- she could be trying to make her way down without proper equipment as the storm approached. This new thought brings adrenaline to Elsa, and she starts to pick up the pace.

* * *

><p>Forty minutes later Elsa was half way through the trail, and she could barely see anything ahead of her. The snow and the wind had picked up so much that she had to constantly feel around and make sure she was stepping in the right place.<p>

Her pace had slowed greatly since she grew tired and the trek became harder... but she keeps pressing forward. Getting to Anna was the only thought on her mind. _What if she's out here? What if I passed her and didn't notice? What if she's not okay? _The negative thoughts hit Elsa hard and her attention is temporarily taken away from where she is walking.

She missteps and goes crashing to the ground. She vaguely feels her head hitting something, but as she stands she doesn't feel any pain or dizziness, so she thanks the universe for her thick hat and thick hair.

She feels around for her trekking pole in the snow for what feels like minutes. She finally gets a grip on it and begins the trek again. As she is walking she squints her eyes and she sees the cabin ahead of her. She hadn't noticed she made this much progress on the trail. She picks up her pace a little, eager to get to Anna, but still being careful.

When she makes it to the door her heart flutters a little as she begins to push it open. When she opens the door the cabin is dark and she can't see Anna anywhere. She takes off her backpack and drops her pole to the floor as she begins to search the cabin.

She walks into a room with a bed and she sees a form huddled under the covers. _Anna. _She goes over to the form and moves the covers back to find Anna- only Anna isn't moving. Anna's face is blue and her body is cold to the touch. Elsa starts to shake her head as she backs away. She slams into a wall and slides down it as she shuts her eyes. She's so cold. She can feel the wind slapping her in the face. _She can feel the wind slapping her in the face._

* * *

><p>Elsa opens her eyes and she's back lying on the ground in the snow. She picks herself up off the ground, and she's cold- really cold. Her muscles are stiff and they don't want to move, but she forces them to. She must have been hallucinating because she's tired and freezing… but that isn't important right now. She needs to get to Anna.<p>

Elsa makes it through the rest of the trek occasionally zoning in and out, but she keeps moving forward. Finally she makes it to the cabin, and she pauses this time- to make sure it's real.

After figuring that she was probably actually at the cabin, she begins to approach it cautiously- afraid of what she might find. When she makes it to the door she pauses. She doesn't want to open it. _What if Anna actually isn't okay? _She shakes the thought away as she reaches her trembling hand forward and slowly opens the door.

The cabin is dimly lit as she steps inside. She is immediately relieved to be out of the stinging wind. Elsa hears a shaking voice call out to her. "Wh-who are y-you?" She looks up to see a shivering Anna sitting on the floor under a blanket, staring in her direction.

Elsa realizes her scarf is wrapped around her face and she's covered in snow, pretty much making her unrecognizable. She pulls the scarf down and drops her pole and backpack on the floor as she makes her way to Anna. "It's... me, coach… er… Elsa."

Anna springs from the floor and runs to Elsa, colliding with her body as she hugs her. Elsa winces at the pain coming from her tight and aching muscles. Anna just pulls her in tighter. "I'm so glad you're here." She pulls back and looks Elsa in the eyes and notices the pain in the older woman's expression. "Shit, you must be cold. Uhm sit… sorry. The fire went out and all I have is this lantern, and some glow sticks."

Elsa points behind Anna. "There are logs… back… there." She can't seem to get her words out as easily as she would like. She points toward her bag. "Flint… and striker… in bag… and match… matches."

Anna's eyes fill with tears but she snaps them shut and shakes her head. "Okay, okay. You sit and I'll get the fire restarted." She wraps the blanket she had been under around Elsa as she guides Elsa's body to the floor. She then begins to gather logs and put them into the fire place. They're heavy, so she can only carry one at a time. Once she has gathered a sufficient amount, she goes through the bag until she finds the matches. She then attempts to get the fire started.

Elsa holds out a hand. "You… have… to-" She can't figure out why it's so hard to speak. "Here." She slowly gets up and painfully makes her way toward the wood pile. She searches for a moment before finding what she's looking for- kindling wood. She slowly moves back toward the fire place and takes the matches from Anna. She sets the kindling in between the larger pieces of wood and she lights it. Once she sees the fire start, she places a larger piece of wood on top for ventilation. After a few minutes the fire starts to fully burn, and it allows a nice amount of light into the space.

Anna looks over at Elsa and tilts her head. "Elsa, what's on the side of your face?" Elsa looks to Anna and lazily shrugs. Anna moves closer to Elsa and begins to unwrap her scarf. Once she carefully removes the scarf she begins to try and lift Elsa's hat, but realizes something is keeping it stuck to her head. She thinks maybe snow got into Elsa's hair and froze it, but when she moves her fingers closer to the fire, she realizes it's blood. Anna freezes. Elsa stares off into space, most likely unaware of her injury. Anna tries to remain calm.

She gently starts to pull Elsa's hat up and Elsa flinches, but doesn't do much more than that. Once Anna manages to get Elsa's hat off, she gets a nice look at what she's dealing with. Anna gets up and begins to search through the house. She finds a small pot, and she goes outside and puts snow in it.

She then goes to Elsa's bag and takes out the first aid kit, the pocket knife, the flashlight, and the blanket. She takes the pot of snow and holds it in the fire until the snow melts. She then cuts a strip from the blanket with the pocket knife and places it in the water. She wedges the flashlight between her thighs to shine onto Elsa's face. She see's the gash in her scalp.

Anna takes the wet blanket strip from the pot and begins to clean the blood off of the gash and Elsa lets out a tiny moan. Anna figures she doesn't have enough energy for much else. "It's okay," she soothes. "I'm going to take care of you." She continues to clean the cut as she speaks to Elsa. "When you decided not to pursue a relationship with me, I thought maybe I didn't mean as much to you as you meant to me. That seems to happen a lot in my relationships… but you do care about me, don't you? That's why you walked through that hell out there, isn't it?"

Elsa lets out a small whimper as she looks up at Anna. "Yeah," she whispers, because that's all she can manage.

Anna finishes cleaning the cut and gets some wrap from the first aid kit. She cuts off a decent amount and begins to wrap it around Elsa's head. Once she finishes she pulls Elsa into her and rests Elsa's head on her chest. Elsa closes her eyes and snuggles into Anna. Anna moves some hair off of Elsa's face. "Not so fast, Els. I can't just let you go to sleep like that," she says with a smile. "Open your eyes for me." After a moment, Elsa's eyes slowly flutter open. Anna lets out a relieved breath. "Tell me something about your childhood," she whispers to the hurting woman.

Elsa is silent for a moment before starting to speak. "I would build… snowmen… with Papa."

Anna nods as she runs her hand over Elsa's shoulder soothingly. "You like building snowmen?"

"Yeah," Elsa replies softly.

Anna smiles down at her. "We could build a snowman. Would you like that?" Elsa lets out a small grunt. "C'mon Els, do you want to build a snowman with me?" Elsa remains silent as her eyes stare off into the distance. Anna takes in a shaky breath. "It doesn't have to be a snowman. It could be a snow monster or something." She still doesn't get a response from Elsa.


	9. Bald Spot

Elsa's eyes close and her head sinks. "Shit. Elsa," Anna breathes out. She lifts her hand and begins to gently tap Elsa's cheek. "Elsa! C'mon Els. Please!"

Elsa raises her head but her eyes remain closed. "Fainted, I think," she begins. Her voice is low and soft. "Give me a minute. Dizzy as hell." She takes in a deep breath through her nose, out through her mouth. After a minute she opens her eyes and gives Anna a small nod. "Better."

Anna takes in a shaky breath. "You sound a little better."

Elsa nods her head and slowly begins to move off of Anna's chest. She starts tugging at her coat. "Help me take this off." Anna obliges and she helps pull off Elsa's coat. Elsa leans over to pull off her boots, but she stops and closes her eyes.

"Are you gonna be sick again?" Anna watches Elsa intently, as the older woman brings her palm to her forehead and sways a little.

Elsa lifts her head. "I'll be fine." She bends over and tries to remove her boots, but she doesn't seem to have enough energy to pull them off. Anna scoots toward her and tentatively reaches out a hand, offering help. After another attempt, Elsa moves her hand and lets Anna do the work. Anna removes her boots and sets them aside. Elsa then pulls the blanket around her and leans over and unzips Anna's coat. She nestles herself into Anna's chest. "I'm really cold."

Anna squints at the bandage on Elsa's head and notices blood seeping through it. "Els, I might have to wrap your head again."

"There is no _might _about it," she begins, "- you didn't even disinfect it. I'm going to need you to do it over." Elsa is vaguely aware that she sounds annoyed, but she's fed up with the way her life has been going. Being trapped in a cabin during a snow storm -with a concussion- is just the icing on top of the misery cake. All of her problems seem to revolve around Anna.

Anna's breath hitches and she lets out a small whimper. "I thought it might hurt." She suddenly feels stupid for not disinfecting the cut. The way Elsa seemed to be scolding her didn't help the situation.

Elsa looks up to Anna. "It's gonna hurt like hell, but I kind of want to live," she says more harshly than she intended to. Her voice is soft, but it still packs a punch. She leans away from the girl and closes her eyes to stave off dizziness. When she opens them again they are filled with a new found resolve. "Go put some snow in that water, the cold will probably help to slow down the bleeding. Head wounds tend to bleed a lot- all of those capillaries and whatnot up there." She closes her eyes again and puts her palm to her forehead. _Shit, this is just perfect._

Anna gets up from the floor and goes outside to place snow in the pot. She returns and sits down next to Elsa once more. "What now?" She sounds eager to help. She doesn't want to screw up again after the older woman came all the way out here just to make sure she was okay.

"I need you to remove the wrap and wash the cut with the cold water." Part of Elsa hates how she has to depend on Anna right now because she doesn't have the strength to do anything. Another part, one she has been working on concealing for the past few weeks, is excited by the prospect of being close to the younger girl again. Anna does as commanded. After minutes of washing the water over the cut, the bleeding slows substantially. Elsa turns to Anna once more. "Now I need you to get one of those disinfectant pads from the first aid kit and press it to the wound."

Anna opens the kit and finds the bundle of disinfectant pads, each sealed in its own envelope. She tears one open and looks down at Elsa. "You should brace yourself or something." Elsa grabs her knees with her hands. Anna's hands are shaking because she doesn't want to hurt Elsa, but she knows this will sting. The gash around Elsa's head is red, bloody, and swollen. "Ready," Anna asks quietly.

"Ready."

The instant Anna touches the pad to the open flesh, Elsa flinches and her breath hitches on a quick intake. In hopes of distracting her, Anna begins to talk. "You uh, you said said you cared about me. Were you just out of it, or did you mean that?"

"I care about you Anna," Elsa says matter-of-factly.

"That's good. I care about you too."

Elsa nods her head. "I know."

Anna takes in a shallow breath. "While we're here it might be good time to talk about us, you know-"

"I don't mean to interrupt you," Elsa says flatly, "-but are you just about done there? That's burning like hellfire." Anna removes the pad and blows gently on the wound.

She leans back to assess the cut. "It looks angry."

"It feels worse." Anna discards the pad and then stares down at her hands. Elsa was in pain and there was nothing she could do about it. Elsa reaches for the first aid kit and feels around until she finds a couple of aspirin. She takes two pills and points to the backpack on the other side of the room. "Get that for me."

Anna stands and walks over to the backpack, picking it up and bringing it over. She hands it to Elsa and Elsa starts to feel around in it. She brings out a sewing kit and Anna's eyes widen. "Please don't ask me to do that."

Elsa opens the kit and takes out the scissors. "Don't worry, I won't." She hands Anna the scissors. "I need you to cut as much hair as you can from around that area."

"Your hair?" Anna immediately regrets asking the question considering the magnitude of the situation.

"Anna it will grow back," Elsa says dryly. Anna leans over and begins to clip hair from around the area. Once it's relatively hair free around the cut she looks to Elsa. Elsa takes out a bandaid and hands it to Anna. "Cut the adhesive into strips and then apply them to the wound to try and hold it shut. When you're done, cover it with a bandage, and then wrap it again."

Anna does as instructed. When she's finished she slumps next to Elsa. "It's barely bleeding anymore. What do we do now?" Elsa pulls trail mix out of the backpack and then moves the backpack aside. She scoots closer to Anna and snuggles into her chest once more, bringing the blanket back around her other side.

Elsa opens the bag of trail mix and begins to eat, offering some to Anna. "We just need to stay warm, and make sure we take care of ourselves until someone is able to come get us. We will have to wait until morning at the very least."

Anna dips her hand into the bag of trail mix and pulls some out. "Are you angry with me Elsa?" She already knows the answer to the question, but she can't figure out why Elsa is mad.

"Yes." Elsa's voice is clipped, and tinged with exasperation. "What were you thinking, staying up here alone?"

Anna shifts her weight slightly under Elsa and lets out a sigh. "I just wanted to be alone for a moment, have some time to myself. It sucked being near you, but not with you- not even on friendly terms with you… but I fell asleep, and when I woke up it was dark. I tried going outside, but… that didn't really work out. So I grabbed a blanket and just hoped someone would come for me." She pauses. "I'm happy that it was you."

Elsa shuts her eyes, her anger subsiding. "Anna what's going on? I thought you were happy with your life."

Anna takes in an uneasy breath before she starts to speak. "That day at the mall when I told you to make a choice, I expected you to let me go. What I didn't expect was how much it would hurt." Anna pauses for a moment. "I thought you'd just try to avoid me, but you didn't. You completely changed how you looked at me, and how you talked to me. It was like my presence didn't have an effect on you anymore. This has been the hardest couple of weeks of my life."

Elsa closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. She goes over the past couple of weeks and thinks of how hard it had been to conceal her emotions from Anna. "It was hard for me too, but I thought that was what you wanted. I was trying to give you a chance to be happy."

"I can only be happy with you," Anna whispers.

"Don't say that," Elsa pleads.

"Why not?"

Elsa feels around for Anna's hand under the cover. Once she finds it she takes it into hers. "It's already damn near impossible for me to stay away from you. You can't say things like that and expect me not to show feelings toward you. You're making this really hard for me."

Anna gently squeezes Elsa's hand. "You don't have to stay away. I don't want you to."

Elsa shakes her head. "That wasn't my intention. I wasn't trying to punish you for what you said in the car. Sure- I was trying to push you away, but I thought it'd make it easier for you to be happy… but I just managed to upset you again. If you want me around as a friend, I can do that-"

"I don't want to just be your friend," Anna blurts out. "Maybe I'm not as smart as women like Karen, or as mature… but I care about you Elsa. I really care about you, and I just want you to be happy. That has to make up for something. I thought I could be happy without you but I can't. Even Kristoff noticed that something was wrong. We broke up."

Elsa pulls herself up closer to Anna's face. "You don't need to compare yourself to other women. You're the only one a care about Anna… and what do you mean you broke up? I had to convince him not to stupidly haul his ass up here like I did."

Anna looks away from Elsa's cold gaze. "Yeah… he's a great guy like that. He cares about me, but he also knows that I won't ever feel the way about him, that he felt about me. We're just good friends now."

Elsa's look softens and she leans her forehead against Anna's cheek. "It's not going to be easy."

"I wasn't really looking for easy," Anna says softly. "I also don't want to push you into this. I just wanted to let you know where I stood. I know you have a lot to lose and-"

"Some people are worth the risk," Elsa interrupts. They sit in silence for a moment and then Elsa speaks up again. "Thanks for making sure I didn't fall asleep. I was pretty out of it when I got here- completely exhausted and I could barely feel my body. I'm feeling okay now, though. Sorry for being mean about how you wrapped my head. You tried to take care of it, and that's all that matters." Elsa lifts her head and places a kiss on Anna's cheek where her forehead had been resting. "Your freckles are so adorable."

Anna smiles as her pale cheeks start to burn bright red. "Thanks," she says bashfully.

Elsa can't help but let out a small laugh. "Wow, I compliment your freckles and that makes you lose your cool?"

Anna shakes her head. "Shutup, my freckles are a sensitive area, okay? Not everyone thinks they're adorable, and they're not just on my face."

Elsa lifts her brow and gives Anna a smirk. "Really now?"

Anna pulls Elsa in closer and places a kiss on her forehead. "You're like half dead. You can't choose now as the time to release your swirling storm of pent-up sexual frustration."

Elsa covers her mouth with her hand as she involuntarily burst into laughter. "Anna if you're gonna say things like that, I'm gonna-"

"Leave?" Anna's voice sounds amused.

Elsa places her face in the crook of Anna's neck. "No, I'm never gonna leave. Can you ever have _one_ entirely serious conversation?"

"Not when I can't stop staring at your bald spot, Elsie."

Elsa opens her mouth in shock as she gently hits Anna's chest. "I think that warrants you getting the silent treatment."

"Is that hereditary, because I don't want Anna Jr. being made fun of by the other kids for premature baldness." Anna rubs Elsa's arm and smiles. "I'm just kidding. Your bald spot is kind of cute."

"It'll grow ba-" Elsa starts before stopping and looking up into Anna's eyes. "Anna Jr.?"

"Yeah, it has a nice ring to it."

Elsa shakes her head. "If you think I'd name my kid Anna Jr., then this relationship has bigger problems than I originally thought."


	10. America's Newest Superhero

Elsa feels the world starting to drift away, but then a cold hand comes down on her cheek. It stings. "Elsa you need to stay awake. The sun is coming up. It shouldn't be too long from now until we're rescued. It looks like the storm has stopped."

Elsa hears Anna's voice, but she can't really put meaning to the words. Her head is killing her, and she wants nothing more than to just close her eyes and sleep. She can't figure out why Anna keeps stopping her every time she tries. "Jeg er trøtt," she mutters.

"For like the millionth time Elsa, I don't know what language you're speaking, but it's not English." Anna shakes Elsa trying to make sure she stays awake. She isn't sure if it's safe or not for her to go to sleep, but she doesn't want to take the chance. Elsa had been okay for a couple of hours, but her mental function had slowly started to decline throughout the night. At first she just had trouble remembering what they had been talking about. It eventually got to the point where she stopped speaking English all together. "Talk to me Elsa. I want to talk!"

That last sentence rings through Elsa's head. Anna had screamed it.

_I want to talk. I want to talk. _

Elsa lets out a small chuckle. "Det var synd. Jeg er trøtt." She turns and buries her face into Anna's chest as she closes her eyes. Suddenly Anna is gone and she feels her arms touching the cold floor beneath her, instead of being nestled against Anna's warm body. The world is spinning. She looks up and sees a man entering the house. He's tall. Anna is talking to him and pointing at her.

* * *

><p>When Elsa wakes up she's in a hospital bed. She opens her eyes and whispers the first thing that comes to mind. "Anna." She then feels a hand on her shoulder and she looks up into the concerned hazel eyes of Olaf.<p>

His grip on her shoulder is firm as he leans down and places a kiss on her forehead. "She's safe. Thanks to you. You're like a freaking superstar right now. People are lining up for interviews."

Elsa closes her eyes and tries to figure out what's going on. She can't quite put a finger on what Olaf is talking about. "Wh-What?"

Olaf lets out a chuckle. "Please tell me you remember this, Elsa. You walked through one of the worst October snow storms in American history to save the daughter of one of the richest men in America- just because she was your student. You're like teacher of the year right now. People are talking book deals. You fractured your skull, and still made it to her. For all intents and purposes, you're like America's newest superhero."

"Anna's… what?" Everything starts to flood back into Elsa's mind.

Anna's rich. Olaf had called her American Royalty_. _

Elsa snaps her eyes shut. She hadn't thought about that. There were probably as many people as her father could buy lined up to rescue her the moment the last drop of snow fell.

Olaf shakes his head. "I always told you caring too much would get you hurt, but this may be one of the better things that could have happened to you." He looks to the other side of Elsa and then back down at her. "I think someone wants to talk to you." Olaf gives Elsa a wink and she looks over to her side.

Elsa sees a tall man with blonde hair and a mustache. He's extremely attractive and wearing a very expensive suit. He looks to be about twice as old as Elsa.

The man walks toward her and places his hand on the side of the bed. "Hello, Elsa. I'm Anna's father. I hope you like the room. I tried to get you the best one. I- I don't know how to repay you." Elsa looks around. It hadn't occurred to her that she was in one of those very expensive, private rooms that hospitals reserve for their VIP guests.

Olaf starts to walk away. "Sorry, Els. I have to get to work. I'll be back as soon as I can." Elsa gives him a small reassuring smile and he leaves the room.

Anna's father continues. "Anna told me you wanted to be a doctor, and I'll do everything I can to get you into the medical school of your choosing. I noticed you majored in Biology and Economics. I'd like to extend you an offer to finish this year working for my company. You might prove to be very useful and I like to think that it would provide better experiences than working with unappreciative high school students."

Elsa snaps her eyes shut and lets out a small moan. "I'm sorry. I-"

"No worries," he interrupts. "I shouldn't have come in here. I just wanted to thank you as soon as you woke up. We can discuss this more, later." He places his hand on Elsa's shoulder and gives her a nod before leaving. Elsa's eyes remain shut and soon she drifts back to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Els, that sounds really great. Don't mess this up." Olaf sounds excited on the other end of the phone as Elsa goes over what Anna's father had offered.<p>

"What do you mean don't mess this up?" she groans.

"Well he's a little conservative and you're kind of a lady-lover, so just don't mention that. This is your chance to really make it big… and you know, buy me a nice apartment." He lets out a laugh. "Really, though. You deserve this. Especially since you had to put up with that little brat the entire tennis season, and then you almost died because she was careless."

Elsa lets out an impatient sigh. "She's not a brat."

Olaf starts laughing again. "You know what I think?"

"Yeah." Elsa replies. "She's worth like a trillion dollars and is my ticket out of this life. I get it." Elsa looks up and sees the door to her room opening. Anna peeks her head in. She's holding flowers. "I have to go Olaf," Elsa states, "-the doctor wants to talk."

Elsa hangs up the phone and Anna begins to walk toward the bed. "I came in earlier," she starts, "but you were asleep. I just wanted to bring you some flowers. I told my dad I wanted to talk to you alone. He's like dying to get to the woman who selflessly saved his daughter."

"How are you, Anna?" Elsa asks.

Anna takes in a breath. "I'm fine. It's weird, like my father never seemed to care much about me and now, he's like flipping his shit."

"Well he probably never came this close to losing you. Maybe he's reevaluating his time with you."

"Maybe," Anna replies flatly. "You know…" She pauses as she plays with the flowers she brought in. "I'm not really worth a trillion dollars, albeit I'm probably a little closer to it than you are. I just didn't want you to get your hopes up." Anna sets the flowers down and gives Elsa a small smile before turning to leave the room.

"Wait, Anna. Please. Don't run…" Elsa tries to lift herself from the bed, but it proves too difficult.

Anna turns around. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell him anything. Regardless of why you risked your life for me, you still did it. You worked hard to get what you wanted, and I won't take that away from you. We can call it even."

Elsa sits up right and drops her head, the world begins to swirl around her. "Anna, that's not-" She can't speak because she's too dizzy.

"You don't have to keep pretending, Elsa." Anna turns and continues to walk toward the door.

"It was that time you came into my class during lunch- I was crying because I was having a hard day," Elsa starts. Anna stops walking, but she keeps her back to Elsa. Elsa painfully swallows, suddenly aware of how dry her throat is. She continues to speak anyway. "You said some people went around carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, and if you weren't paying close enough attention you'd think those people were weak. You said you actually thought those were the strongest people- the ones that cared too much. You told me I couldn't change everyone, and that I would drive myself crazy if I kept trying. That's when I started to fall for you."

Anna turns around. "Because I gave you some shitty advice, that was pretty much common sense?"

"No." Elsa slowly shakes her head and lets out a small grunt at the sharp pain that shoots through it. "Because you were saying some people didn't change… but _you_ did. I saw it in the way you spoke to others, and how you started to have more respect for yourself. I mean you went from Hans to Kristoff, that alone should tell you something. In order to change like that, you have to admit to yourself that what you're doing is wrong. That takes a lot of courage. That's what I saw in you that day."

Anna runs a hand through her hair. "I realized that I wasn't happy and that I could do something about it-"

"It's not that simple for most people," Elsa interrupts. "Either way, you're really strong and confident and I like that- I love that about you… even now, as I struggle to get you to see that I actually care about you. Every second I spend with you… I learn to love myself a little more. You make me a better me, and that's why I want- need you in my life, Anna. Do you understand how hard it is to find someone like that? Do you think I'd give this up for a temporary job, and a better chance of getting into medical school?"

Anna shakes her head as a tear falls down her cheek. "I don't know Elsa. This is so hard, everything is so complicated now."

Elsa stares at the crying Anna and takes in a deep breath. "I told you it wasn't going to be easy."


	11. Better Company

"Jesus Christ, Elsa. If you push me away again I'm going to have to start tying you up."

Elsa's breath hitches as Anna moves her mouth back to her neck and begins trailing kisses toward her pulse point. Her hands tighten around Anna's biceps and she tries to divert her mind from the immense pleasure she's feeling. "You know… that's my carotid artery… that… you seem to be so… fascinat-" Elsa takes in a sharp breath as Anna roughly sucks the skin of her neck into her mouth.

Anna releases her neck and moves her gaze back up to meet Elsa's. She slowly pushes her hand up Elsa's shirt and rests it on her breast, gently squeezing it. Elsa closes her eyes and tilts her head back, her breathing labored. Anna leans forward. "Shhh, stop talking," she whispers into Elsa's lips before taking the bottom one into her mouth.

Elsa turns her head, pulling away from the kiss. "You're supposed to be showing me tennis trophies. He expects us back soon."

Anna lets out a heated growl before pulling her hand from under Elsa's shirt. She takes a step back and runs a hand through her hair. "I barely see you once a week, Elsa. I can't take this anymore."

Elsa looks to Anna apologetically. "How would it have looked if I refused his offer?" She sticks out her hand and takes a step toward the younger girl. Anna moves toward her and she pulls her into a hug. "We'll figure something out. I promise," she whispers into Anna's hair. She wasn't sure if she should make that promise, but Anna needed to hear it. _She_ needed to hear it.

Anna lifts her head with tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "Why can't we just tell him," she asks pleadingly.

Elsa lets out a breath and closes her eyes as she steps away from the hug. "Not everyone can waltz through life like they have nothing to lose, Anna." The comment sounds harsh once it leaves her lips and she immediately wishes she could take it back. Saying this relationship wasn't going to be easy was the biggest understatement of the year. Being so private about it and barely spending any time together was starting to take a toll on both of the women. They needed to figure something out, and they needed to do it fast.

"What's that supposed to mean," Anna asks, sounding hurt. Elsa opens her mouth to apologize, but Anna shakes her head. "Never mind, lets just go back downstairs." Anna leaves the room and Elsa follows her back to the dining area. They are silent for the entire walk.

When they enter the room Anna's father, already seated at the table, gives them a smile. "Were you impressed by her trophies," he asks Elsa.

"She wasn't," Anna says flatly. Elsa's eyes widen as she turns to Anna. Anna shrugs. "What? Don't pretend that you were."

"That's not true," Elsa starts.

Anna rolls her eyes and looks to her father. "I don't really want dessert." She turns and exits the room, leaving Elsa alone with her father.

Elsa turns to follow her but Anna's father speaks up. "Don't worry, Elsa. It's not your fault. Anna is just a tad strong-willed and outspoken. She could make an excellent businesswoman someday if she just learned to control her temper."

Elsa drops her head and walks to the table. "I feel like I did something wrong."

Anna's father shakes his head. "No, quite the contrary, actually. I think Anna really looks up to you. I like having you around. You really set some positive examples for her."

Elsa gives Anna's father a polite smile. "There's no need to flatter me, Mr. Perelman," she responds sharply, accentuating the fact that she didn't want to belabor the point. _Really, you don't need to. _Elsa places her face in her hands and attempts to collect herself.

"I don't mean to flatter, I simply speak the truth. Actually-" He clears his throat. "If it's not too imposing- I was wondering if you wouldn't mind spending a little time with Anna? Perhaps shopping or going to the movies. I hate to ask." He pauses. "I don't want you to feel pressured to do this- it's just nice to see that she's taken a liking to a woman close to her age. To be honest, I was a little worried after her relationship with Hans.. and adding on her carelessness with the cabin incident, you can see why I just want her to be in… well… better company."

* * *

><p>Olaf slams his drink on the table as he lets out a roaring laugh. Beer sloshes over his hand but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. "He wants you to what? Jesus, you just can't seem to get a break from this family. I'm so sorry, Els. I hope you told him you have better things to do with your life."<p>

Elsa shakes her head and presses her lips into a flat line. She was actually excited by the idea of getting to spend more time with Anna. Her only concern was how they were going to make sure their relationship looked friendly to the unknowing eye. Anna was starting to have trouble controlling herself. "I don't know, Olaf. I mean he's giving me so much-"

"You freaking saved that little shit of a daughter he has. He should be on his knees kissing the ground you walk on, Els." Olaf gives her a smug smile, but she doesn't share the sentiment. As long as she was sneaking around with his daughter, she would forever feel like she was in his debt.

Elsa runs a hand through her hair and takes another sip of her drink. _You don't understand, Olaf. _"I don't even know why I brought this up to you. I'm gonna do it; she's a nice kid."

Olaf shakes his head. "I don't think I've ever met anyone as generous or as caring as you Elsa. With that being said- I don't think you should let these people walk all over you, just because they're rich. If that brat can't get her bitchy attitude in check, you need to distance yourself. You don't deserve that. You're a good person."

Elsa puts her head down on the table.

_Am I a good person?_

She thinks about her actions and whether or not they can be justified. She doesn't know what to do anymore. She doesn't even feel comfortable telling her best friend about her relationship. She can even identify the problem within herself. There a million ways that she has to justify the relationship to herself everyday, just to keep moving on with her life.

_What am I getting myself into? Is this really worth it? _An image of Anna flashes through her mind and she lets out a sigh. _Anna is definitely worth it. _

There is no doubt in her mind that she's willing to go through great lengths to be with Anna, but she isn't sure how far she can be pushed without breaking. She lifts her head. "I don't know if you're just drunk, or if you've recently taken up being a dick, Olaf- but I'd appreciate it if you didn't revert to making sexist remarks about a girl you barely know."

Olaf's face takes on a serious expression and he reaches out a hand toward Elsa. "Els, I didn't mean anything by it. You know that."

"No. I don't know that, Olaf." She knots her fingers together in anger. "You've had it out for her since day one, and you have zero reasons for it."

He recoils in shock. "Zero… What the shit, Elsa? You're the one who complained non-stop about her being a pain in your ass and then one day you just switched up your attitude, and now I'm the freaking bad guy? If you want to go around defending that ungrateful little twat like some white knight crusader-" He pauses and tilts his head as he lifts a questioning brow. "You're hot for her, aren't you?"

A tear falls down Elsa's cheek and she angrily wipes it away. "Olaf, this little outburst you're having is uncalled for... and I don't appreciate you accusing me of things." She wants him to stop, but he just keeps going.

"Jesus Christ, Elsa. How messed up are you? I mean I know you have some issues but-"

"Okay, Olaf." Elsa slaps the table as she pushes her chair away and stands. "Just let it out. Let it all out. Tell me about my issues, why don't you? That's exactly what I want." Tears start streaming down Elsa's face. "I thought you were my friend, Olaf. I thought you were on my side." Elsa wants to run from the table but she doesn't know where she would go. She can't leave the only person that has consistently been there for her through every bad moment of her life.

"I am on your side, but I can't sit back and watch as you shit all over your life for some little girl who doesn't deserve you." He stands from the table and looks down at Elsa.

"What's it to you, Olaf?" She wishes he didn't care as much as he does. She wishes he would just accept it and move on so she can feel a little better about herself and what she's doing. There really isn't anything left to feel bad about- she isn't Anna's teacher anymore. She can't figure out why she still needs to keep it in the dark.

He shakes his head and softens his look. "I'm just saying that if she gets angry and opens her mouth, you go from being a superhero to a pervert in half a second. _You were her teacher, _Elsa." He enunciates each word to get the point across to Elsa. "Your entire future would rest in the hands of her emotional stability… and I don't like the dynamic of that relationship."

_That's why I need to keep it in the dark, _Elsa thinks. She starts to sob as she looks up at Olaf. "She's not like that."

_She isn't, is she? _Elsa starts to doubt herself and it sends her even more over the edge. She looks to Olaf, her eyes begging him to comfort her.

Olaf walks over to Elsa and pulls her into a hug. "Are you sure about that, Els? I'll always have your back; that's a promise. I just need you to know that this isn't your best idea. You should really consider telling her father no. End this before it's too late. There are so many other amazing women out there who won't cause you these problems."

Elsa grabs onto Olaf's shirt and buries her face into his chest, her cries muffled. "I don't know what to do anymore."


	12. Carefree

Elsa opens the door of her apartment to find Anna beaming up at her. She notices that the freckled girl is wearing the same button down flannel shirt that she wore in the mall when they kissed for the first time.

Anna bounces inside, without being invited, and carelessly tosses her bag on the floor. Elsa smiles to herself and shakes her head as she shuts the door. She then turns to Anna and finds her smiling broadly with her hands linked behind her back, teetering on her heels. "We finally get to be alone, Elsa," she says, obviously trying to contain her excitement.

"Yeah, it's-"

"Wait." Anna sticks out a hand. "Before you dig into your endless repertoire of 'Anna-we-can't-do-this' excuses- I'd just like to say that no one is going to randomly walk in on us. We're actually alone, and not really sneaking around… I mean I did tell my dad we were spending the day together."

Elsa shrugs and gives Anna a meek smile. "Actually I wasn't going to give an excuse this time. I was just going to say that it's pretty exciting." She begins to head toward the kitchen area of her small apartment. "Do you want anything to eat? I can make you a sandwich."

Anna nods as she picks her bag up off the floor. She walks over to the couch and begins to search through it. "Yeah. That sounds great. I didn't really eat much breakfast." She looks up to find Elsa smiling at her. "Why are you always smiling at me like that?"

Elsa shakes her head. "No particular reason. It's just refreshing to see someone so carefree. You just make me happy, Anna." She takes out the bread and begins to search the refrigerator for meat.

Anna smiles to herself as she continues to search through her bag. "Maybe after my four maturing years of college, I'll be a little less care free."

Elsa continues making the sandwich as she gently laughs. "No, Anna. I was like this long before college. Is there anything you want on your sandwich?"

"Yeah, mustard. What happened to make you not carefree," Anna asks sounding genuinely interested.

"Just a couple of unfortunate events," Elsa says plainly. She picks up the sandwich and walks over to join Anna on the couch. "What do you have there?"

Anna holds up a map and gives Elsa a smile. "It's a map of Norway." She sets the map on the coffee table and reaches to take the sandwich Elsa brought her. "I know it's kind of a little while from now- but I was thinking maybe we could travel through Norway this summer. It'd be a fun way to relax before college… and spend time with you."

Elsa takes in a breath. "I don't know if-"

"Humor me, Elsa," Anna says, tilting her head as she takes a bite out of her sandwich.

Elsa smiles and looks down at the map, and then back to Anna. "_Okay,_" She says, dragging out the word longer than she needs to. She sighs and then points to a place on the map. "We could start here in the Romsdalen area, near Åndalsnes. My family owned a cabin there."

"How does it look," Anna asks, leaning into Elsa.

Elsa wraps her arm around Anna and pulls her in. "It's really beautiful. I might have some pictures from my childhood that I could show you later."

Anna nods. "Okay. Where do we go from there?"

Elsa begins to lightly run her hand over Anna's thigh. "After that, we could spend some time in Trondheim. From there we can go to Bergen where we can take a bus and hike up to Trolltunga."

"I'm glad you trust me to hike with you."

Elsa laughs as she kisses the side of Anna's head. "Of course I do." Elsa takes in a breath and looks at the map. "I guess from there we could head to Stavanger and hike Preikestolen. We'll just have to pray for good weather and clear skies," she says with a smile. "We could probably see Sverd i fjell in Stavanger."

Anna excitedly turns to Elsa. "I know what that is- the swords right?"

Elsa nods. "I see someone is doing their homework."

"I just wanted to be a good student," Anna says with a wink.

Elsa's eyes widen as she leans her head on Anna's shoulder. "Oh my God, can we not do this," she says as she tries to stifle a laugh.

Anna brings up her hand to rub the side of Elsa's head. "I'm sorry… it was just too good to pass up. What are we gonna do after we finish there?"

Elsa lifts her head and thinks for a moment. "I guess… we can head to Oslo from there. Not too exciting, but there's some nice architecture. Uhhh, from Oslo we can fly to the Lofoten Islands. You know, Norway is beautiful in the summer, but it's absolutely breath taking in the winter. It'd be a little crazy to try that though, I mean you need spiked tires just to drive on the roads-"

"I really like watching you talk about this," Anna interrupts. "Actually uhm, it's sort of why I brought it up. You seem like you've been going through a lot… and I just wanted you to-"

"-be more carefree?" Elsa finishes Anna's sentence and pulls her in tighter.

"Yeah. I mean what's more carefree than backpacking through your home country with your girlfriend?" Anna reaches down and takes Elsa's hand into hers. "I hate to bring it up, but I feel like I need to. How's your relationship with Olaf?"

Elsa takes in a deep breath and releases it. "It's okay," she says quietly. _That's an overstatement. _Truthfully, Elsa's relationship with Anna had been driving a wedge between her and Olaf. To be fair, he was trying to accept it, but he was so busy worrying about the fact that Elsa could get hurt, that he was ignoring how happy Anna made her.

Anna gives Elsa's hand a squeeze. "Does he still think this is a bad decision?"

"Yeah," Elsa replies quietly.

"Do you think this is a bad decision?" Elsa can't help but notice the apprehension in Anna's voice. Anna was looking to her for guidance on this. Her decisions were affecting the both of them. She wanted to do what was best for both of them, but she wasn't exactly sure what that was anymore.

There is a silence between them and Elsa lets out a sigh. "I don't know what I think," she leans down and kisses Anna's shoulder, "but I can't imagine you ever being a bad decision."

Anna lets out a small laugh. It's more nervous than it is happy. "You know, we're a little boring when we're alone and not worrying about anyone else… I kind of like it." Elsa smiles down at Anna and Anna looks over to meet her eyes. "I'd never do anything to hurt you," Anna says quietly.

"I know, Anna," Elsa says, her smile fading. "I think we're just letting other people rule our relationship, and we shouldn't do that. I mean we're both consenting adults and it's not like I'm way older than you- our age difference is lower than the average age difference in marriages. So-"

"So what's the problem," Anna finishes.

Elsa closes her eyes. The problem is Anna's dad. The problem is Olaf. The problem is the public's opinion_._

If this got out the story would be twisted so many times that by the end of it no one would know that they were just two girls that really liked each other. They need to at least wait for the hype around the cabin incident to die down before they did anything. "I know," Anna says, interrupting Elsa's thoughts. "Why couldn't I just be some random girl that no one gave a shit about?"

Elsa shakes her head. "I wouldn't change anything about you. Not even that random gray streak that you have." Elsa starts to laugh and Anna pulls away from their embrace. "I'm so sorry Anna," she says between giggles, "but what is it with that section of hair?"

Anna pouts as she takes her hair into her hand. "I'm not sure. I once had this dream that I was kissed by a troll."

Elsa's laughter dies down and she runs a hand through her hair. "That is probably the cutest thing that has ever come out of anyone's mouth."

"Excuse me, I'm not the one who talked about building snowmen with _Papa._" Anna lifts a brow and gives Elsa a sly smile. "You can't argue with me. Sleepy-slight-brain-injury Elsa is probably the most adorable thing that anyone could ever experience, and I am the only one- and hopefully I will stay the only one- who has ever gotten to see that."

"Do you feel special?"

"The special-est," Anna replies with a straight face.

Elsa smiles and starts to crawl toward Anna. She pushes the younger girl back on to the couch and she climbs on top of her. She then brushes the hair off her forehead and looks her in the eyes. She leans forward as she begins to speak softly. "Well-" She places a kiss on Anna's forehead. "You-" She kisses Anna's nose. "Are-" She kisses Anna's cheek. "The-" She kisses Anna's other cheek. "Special-est." She firmly plants a kiss on Anna's lips as she brings her hand up the side of Anna's body.

Elsa runs her tongue over Anna's lips and Anna responds by opening her mouth. Elsa enters, gently probing the inside of Anna's mouth. She begins to undo the buttons on Anna's shirt but Anna's hand reaches up and stops her. Anna breaks away from the kiss. "Wait-"

Elsa props herself up on her elbow and lets out a laugh. "Didn't see that coming, you always get on me for stopping us."

Anna bites down on her lip. "Well I always know that eventually we'll have to stop... it's just that... I've never done this."

"This?"

Anna gestures between them. "This."

Elsa nods. "Oh. With a girl?"

Anna shakes her head. "No, in general... it just hasn't happened."

Elsa takes in a deep breath and her eyes widen. "Oh," she exclaims. "Not even with Hans? I just-"

"Jesus Christ, Elsa. No.. and try to act a little less shocked. It's not that surprising." Anna rolls her eyes and turns away from Elsa.

Elsa leans forward and places a kiss on her cheek. "I'm sorry," she says gently. "It isn't shocking. I just had never considered that."

Anna looks back to her. "This doesn't change anything right? I was just bringing it up because I thought you should know."

Elsa runs a hand through her hair. She doesn't know how to proceed with this. She wanted to talk about it, but Anna seemed intent on keeping this conversation short. She felt like this should be special for Anna, and maybe the couch wasn't the best place, but she didn't know if she should bring that up or not.

_This is complicated._ Elsa sighs at the thought. _Maybe I'm just making this complicated. _

That thought sounded better to her. She smiles down at Anna. "If you're fine, it doesn't really change anything for me."


	13. Control

_This is actually happening._

Elsa looks down at Anna and tries to gather her thoughts. She knew this was a possibility, with Anna coming over, but she isn't sure how to react now that the opportunity has actually manifested.

She could barely handle Anna in that black dress- _And now I'm going to see her naked. _She takes in a breath as she rakes her shaking fingers through her hair. She then releases her hand and lets it fall back to the couch next to Anna.

Anna smiles up at her expectantly.

Elsa clears her throat. _Shit, I should do something. Should I take it slow.. or just assume she'll catch on? _A million thoughts roll through her head and she doesn't seem to have the answer for even _one _of them.

She closes her eyes and tries to reach for the calm place that she is sure is somewhere inside of her. The temperature in the room begins to rise, or maybe she's boiling from the inside- either way, she needs a glass of water. Elsa clumsily climbs off of Anna and starts to head toward the kitchen, with no explanation.

"Are you okay, Els?" She hears Anna's voice call from behind her, and she manages to let out an affirmative grunt. She makes it to the refrigerator and takes out the pitcher of water, deciding to drink straight from it instead of getting a glass.

_I don't think I've ever been this nervous before. _She pauses. _Not nervous… I've never been this turned on before. _She gently places the pitcher on the counter as she takes a deep breath.

Her heart's about to pound out of her chest and her skin feels like it's on fire. All of this would be okay if it wasn't for the fact that Elsa needs to be in control- and not just of herself. She needs control over Anna, or at least a clear indication of what Anna is going to do... or what she can do.

She doesn't like surprises during sex and Anna is just the type of person to do something unexpected. It would be foolish to think that the younger girl would sit by idly and let Elsa take charge- that just isn't in her nature.

Elsa bites down on her lip and tries to figure out how to go about this. Talking about it isn't much of an option- it is too late for that. She closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose to calm herself. She then feels a primal tug in her lower abdomen and she's pulled from her thoughts, back to the scene in front of her. Anna is now standing and watching her intently.

Elsa decides it's now or never and she walks from the kitchen area, back toward Anna, offering her a weak smile as she gets closer. She latches her thumbs into the front pockets of her jeans. "Sorry… I was just so thirsty, you know-" she stops mid sentence and clears her throat. She pauses and allows herself to take in every inch of the girl standing in front of her.

She notices how Anna keeps shifting her weight from one leg to the other and how her arms are folded across her chest. She can practically see her pounding heart hammering against the fabric of her shirt, and she can see the slight part in Anna's plump lips. When she makes it to Anna's eyes she freezes.

At first there is something tentative about Anna's glare, but in an instant it flickers away. Her eyes darken and her lips curl up into a smile. She drops her arms and takes a step toward Elsa. "That's the same look you had before you kissed me in that restroom," Anna breathes.

Elsa swallows hard, barely able to contain herself. Anna lets out a light chuckle. "You pretty much tackled me in that restroom. It's okay, Els. I don't really mind rough," she whispers as she smiles coyly up at the older woman. It takes everything inside of Elsa to not throw Anna down on the couch and proceed right there. She needs to be civilized.

Elsa forces her lips into a smile, not willing to let Anna do what she does best- strip her of her control. She lifts her hand, gesturing behind Anna. "We should go to the bedroom," she says, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.

Anna smiles and gives Elsa a wink before turning and walking off. Elsa watches as she disappears into the bedroom and then she lets out a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding. She runs her hand through hair before cracking her neck and taking in a calming breath.

_You know what she's doing, Els. She just likes to see you squirm. _

Elsa nods at the thought and starts to walk toward the bedroom. When she enters the room she finds Anna without her jeans on, slowly unbuttoning her shirt. "Thought I'd save you the trouble," Anna says with a smile.

Elsa's eyes are drawn to Anna's black lace underwear.

_She really was ready for this,_ Elsa thinks, her mind having trouble keeping up with the scene unfolding in front of her... or rather, shakes her head.

_Control. _

"Yeah, no- that's yeah… good idea," she stutters. She then hastily lifts her shirt over her head and throws it to the floor before reaching down for her belt. Her shaking fingers refuse to work, betraying her otherwise calm appearing demeanor, and she fumbles a little trying to take the belt off.

She then feels Anna's hands cover hers and she stops. Elsa looks up to see Anna's amazing teal eyes staring up at her- the shirt no longer on her body. "I could help you with that," Anna says heatedly, lust dripping from every word.

Elsa slowly moves her hands and Anna grabs on to her belt, never breaking eye contact. She undoes the buckle tantalizingly slow making sure to graze parts of her hand across the front of Elsa's pants as much as possible. Elsa's mind is screaming at her at this point.

_What are you doing, Elsa? You're more experienced than her. Don't let her do- _

She turns her thoughts off and focuses on Anna. She's done fighting this. She doesn't care about control anymore. She just wants to be with Anna.

Elsa watches as Anna drops her belt to the floor. She then lifts her hands and begins trailing up either side of Anna's waist. "You're so beautiful," she breathes, as she gives the younger girl a warm smile.

Anna nods and smiles back before letting out a sigh of relief. "It's nice to see you finally loosening up. I thought I was going to have to carry us through this- and I really don't know what I'm doing." Elsa lets out a laugh as she pulls Anna into a hug. Anna wraps her arms around Elsa's shoulders and buries her face in her hair. "Seriously, I thought you were about to crawl into yourself or something," Anna says with a laugh. "It's gonna be okay. I trust you."

Elsa brings her hand up and tangles it in Anna's hair as she gently tilts the younger girl's head back. She then leans down and presses their lips together. The kiss is soft at first, but Elsa deepens it, wanting more of Anna- needing to release the building tension inside of her. She feels like she will explode if she lets it fester any longer. Elsa spears her tongue into Anna's mouth, hot and demanding.

She's way beyond control at this point.

Anna tightens her grip around Elsa's shoulders, her knees feeling like they are going to give out and her head spinning. She has never seen Elsa like this, but it is waking something inside of her that has been asleep for the eighteen years she has been on this planet.

Elsa roams her free hand down Anna's back, stopping at the top of her bottom and pulling her in tighter. She then wedges her thigh between Anna's legs and Anna lets out a moan at the pleasing friction caused by Elsa's jeans. She arches her body into Elsa as her nails dig into the older woman's shoulders. Elsa draws herself away from Anna's mouth. Her voice breathless, "Anna," is all she manages to get out.

Anna can hear the yearning in Elsa's voice. Her own voice has deserted her, her breathing hard. Anna moves her hand upward, pushing Elsa's hair away from her piercing, icy blue eyes. She searches Elsa's face, willing her to see that she feels the same.

Elsa can feel her blood burning as Anna stares up at her. With strength she didn't know she had, she lifts Anna and carries her to the bed, almost throwing her onto the mattress. As she climbs on, Anna's brilliant teal eyes meet hers, and then they drop lower, appraising her body. Her core pulses as Anna's eyes make their way over her bra and then.. _Jesus Christ._ Anna licks her lips.

In an instant, Elsa is on Anna again. Her tongue explores Anna's mouth as her hands rove over her freckled skin, wanting to feel all of her. She can't get enough of Anna, she needs more. Elsa abruptly lifts herself up and yanks her bra over her head, not bothering to unclasp it. She returns to the kiss and feels Anna's nimble hands reach up to explore her newly exposed flesh.

She watches as Anna slips her hand behind her back and removes her own bra, before clamping her fingers around one of her throbbing nipples. Elsa then moves herself aside, straddling one of Anna's legs between her thighs, as her hand moves down Anna's body.

Anna arches her body, meeting Elsa's touches- her little moans spurring Elsa on. Elsa's finger brushes the inside of her thigh and she shudders. Anna feels Elsa's hand pause for a moment, but the anticipation makes it feel like an eternity.

Elsa keeps going, slipping her hand inside of Anna's underwear, feeling how wet she is. She then bends down and takes Anna's free nipple into her mouth as she gently slides her middle finger into Anna.

"Oh, _Shit_," Anna moans, as she comes up off the bed.

Elsa looks up and catches Anna watching as her tongue travels across the younger girls breast. She then takes Anna between her teeth, teasing her tight nipple with just the right amount of pain, all the while keeping her eyes focused on Anna's.

Anna feels Elsa's thumb begin to swirl slowly and methodically, circling around her until she finds her already sensitive clit. The sensation sends sparks through Anna's body and she bucks against Elsa's hand. Elsa strokes her slowly, but Anna wants more. She was desperate for more. She moves against Elsa, the heat twisting within her. She feels Elsa add more pressure, circling faster as she begins to stroke in and out of Anna.

Anna still needs more. She needs to feel Elsa. She presses Elsa's side, prompting her to lift up. Elsa obliges and Anna slides her hand down Elsa's body until she reaches the front of her jeans. She then undoes the button and shoves her hand into Elsa's underwear. Anna can feel the intense heat radiating from Elsa's wet core and it makes the tension build even more inside her.

Elsa throws her head back and a moan escapes her mouth as Anna's fingers begin to explore her sex. She is already near the edge and this is the first time that Anna has even touched her.

Elsa shudders as Anna unexpectedly slides a finger inside of her. Anna is going to be her undoing, there is no doubt about that. Elsa tries to fight the building pressure, as Anna starts to work her finger in and out of her. She wants to wait just a little bit longer.

Anna can feel the pressure inside of her reaching a threshold and she takes her hand from her breast and twists it into the sheets below her. Her body clenches as she continues to arch herself into Elsa... and then everything is released. Her heart skips a beat and her hand slams into Elsa. Her body goes liquid as wave after wave of ineffable heat rolls through her until she's blinded by the sweet sensation.

_"Fuck, Anna,_" Elsa cries out as she drops her head on to Anna's chest, her body spasming uncontrollably.

They sit like this until their bodies go limp, and then they wait silently, enjoying each other's presence. Elsa takes her hand from Anna and brings it up to rest next to her rib cage. Anna pulls her arm from under Elsa and lays it across her back. She wraps her other arm around Elsa's head and begins to gently stroke her hair. "That was fantastic," she says quietly, her voice filled with warmth.

Elsa gently kisses Anna's body before lifting her head and smiling up at the younger girl. "I'm glad you thought so- because we're just getting started. I haven't even taken my pants off yet."


	14. Everything is Fine

"Anna, you're cutting that wrong."

Elsa watches as Anna continues cutting the same way, despite being told otherwise. She clenches her hand into a fist and takes a deep breath through her nose, and out through her mouth. She then walks forward, tentatively extending a hand in Anna's direction. "You wanna do it so that…" She pauses. "Here-" Elsa reaches for the knife and Anna stops cutting, unceremoniously dropping the knife to the cutting board.

She turns to Elsa, her eyes glowering. "I told you I'm not that great at cooking… If you _keep _standing over me like this, I'm going to be even worse."

Elsa fingers the fringe of her scarf as she sullenly looks to Anna. She doesn't know why Anna is so on edge. They have just been preparing dinner because Olaf is coming over.

"What's bugging you?" Elsa waves a hand through the air before dropping it back to her side. "I don't want to do this thing where we pretend we're fighting about the food being chopped wrong."

"No, Elsa. That is _exactly _what we're fighting about. You _always _want to do things that I'm not good at. I just want to spend a day with you where I don't feel completely incompetent." Anna looks down at her hands. Her facade breaks, and her anger is replaced by a vulnerability.

"Whoa, Anna. That's not- I didn't take you ice skating or ask you to cook with me so I could make you feel bad about yourself." Elsa walks forward and takes Anna's hands into hers. "These are things that I love doing, and I want to share them with _you_." She places a kiss on Anna's forehead, and the younger girl lifts her head to meet Elsa's eyes.

Anna's expression is unreadable as her eyes carefully search Elsa's face. "I know." She squeezes Elsa's hands as she moves forward and leans her head against her chest. "I just hate feeling inadequate around you… and I'm also nervous about meeting Olaf." Her voice trails off as she releases Elsa's hands. She then closes her eyes and wraps her arms around the older woman's shoulders.

Elsa wraps her arms around Anna, pulling her in closer as she places a gentle kiss in her hair. "It's going to be okay. He actually has warmed up to the idea of me dating you- something about me genuinely seeming happier," she says with a slight chuckle. "Next time we go out, we can do something you like."

Anna's head pops up, nearly hitting Elsa in the chin. "Really?" Her bright blue eyes stare excitedly at Elsa as she eagerly awaits the older woman's response.

"Yeah, of course. What would you like to-"

"Paintball."

Elsa's smile leaves her face as the reality of the situation dawns on her. She dryly stares at Anna and starts to slowly shake her head. "Was _anything _you did or said in the past five minutes genuine- or did you _actually _think you could guilt-trip me into going paintballing with you?"

Anna looks off to the side and nods her head. "_Okay…_ but how else was I supposed to ask you? I knew you wouldn't even _consider _the idea if I just casually brought it up."

"For good reason-"

"You're just a wuss," Anna interrupts. She pulls away from the hug and positions her body to mock Elsa's pose. "I'm Elsa and I just _pretend_ like I'm not affected by anything, but deep down I'm really just afraid of my own shadow."

Elsa rolls her eyes and moves to the cutting board to continue chopping the vegetables. "You're impossible, Anna."

"Is that a yes?"

Elsa bites down on her lip as she chops. She knew Anna was going to bug her relentlessly until she caved in.

_Why even try to fight it? _

"Okay. It's a yes," Elsa finally breathes. "But you're gonna owe me for this."

Anna pumps her arm in the air as the front door of Elsa's apartment opens. Olaf walks in holding a case of beer with a grin on his face. "What's goin' on ladies?"

Anna beams at him with a child-like grin. "I convinced Elsa to go paintballing with me."

"Well, shit. We haven't properly met, but I think you're my new best friend." He walks into the kitchen and sets the beers on the counter.

Elsa rolls her eyes as she turns to leave the kitchen. _These two are too much for me to handle. _"I already don't like you two together. I'm gonna go grab my phone." She turns back around before she makes it out of the kitchen area. "By the way, Anna is only eighteen, so bad choice of drinks."

Anna holds up a hand. "It's cool, I like beer. Some of it's not that bad."

Elsa shakes her head, dumbfounded. "Why would you even know what beer tastes like?"

"Why do you have to be such a mom?" Anna deadpans. She turns away from Elsa as she tries to stifle a laugh.

Olaf nods his head in Elsa's direction. "Valid question."

Elsa gives Olaf a sardonic look before turning to leave. "I'll be back in a sec. Try not hurt yourselves, _children._"

Olaf turns to Anna and extends a hand. "I'm Olaf. For all intents and purposes you can just consider me Elsa's brother. I've known her for as long as I can remember."

Anna takes Olaf's hand into hers. "I'm Anna. For all _intents and purposes _you can just consider me Elsa's girlfriend." She releases his hand and lifts a brow. "I heard you didn't like me?"

Olaf laughs as he turns to open the case of beers. "I wonder who told you that."

Anna rolls her eyes and leans against the counter. "I'm just saying, you don't even _know_ me- so how can you not _like_ me?"

Olaf turns to Anna and shrugs. "I guess I'm just naturally opposed to anyone boning my sister." Anna's eyes widen and her jaw drops.

"Olaf, _Jesus Christ_! I never even said we were having sex." Elsa's voice comes from the other side of Anna as she returns to the kitchen.

"Yeah… _you_ didn't- but Anna's face says it all right now." He winks at Elsa before turning to finish opening the case of beers.

Elsa turns to Anna, irritation etched on her face. She places her hand under Anna's chin and lifts, closing the younger girl's mouth. "Control yourself."

Olaf laughs as he takes the beers out of the case. "So demanding." He turns to Anna, extending a beer in her direction. "I say we propose a truce."

Anna nods as she takes the beer, but Elsa snatches it from her hand. "I'm not getting arrested for giving drinks to a _minor._" Both Olaf and Anna give Elsa quizzical looks. "I mean she… wh-… _Jeez_, she has to drive home. Anna, you have to drive home. That is just dangerous." Elsa sets the beer on the counter and looks to Anna. "If it makes you feel better, I won't drink either."

Olaf laughs and rolls his eyes. "More for me then." He takes two beers and goes to sit at the table.

When Olaf's back is turned, Anna wraps her arms around Elsa's waist and quickly presses a kiss to her lips. "Calm down, babe. Everything is fine." Anna releases her and moves to grab the salad to take over to the table.

Elsa takes in a breath.

_Everything is fine. They're getting along. _

She lets a out a sigh before defeatedly accepting that she can't predict how this night will end. She then grabs the rest of the food and makes her way to the table to join Anna and Olaf. She can see that they're already laughing about something. _This is going to be a long night,_ she thinks to herself.

Elsa makes it to the table and sets the food down. "What are you two laughing about?"

"You," Anna says in a honeyed voice.

Elsa then takes her place at the table, tilting her head, annoyed . "I can barely handle you two _separately_- can you tone it down while we're all together?"

Anna shakes her head. "I'm pretty sure we're just two people that you can't control, so get used to it."

Olaf begins scooping salad onto his plate as he turns to look at Anna. "If you never talked to her, she might _actually_ come off as intimidating."

Elsa covers her ears as she puts her head down on the table. "That's it. I'm just shutting you two out."

Olaf squints his eyes and stands from the table. "Ladies and Gentleman," he says with a fake Australian accent, "today we will observe the rare and beautiful Ice Queen in her natural habitat- A kingdom of isolation."

Anna bursts into laughter as she slaps the table. "I get it! Ice-olation." Her and Olaf high-five as Elsa gets up from the table and leaves the area.

Olaf's grin leaves his face as he takes in a breath and sits back down. "One of us has to follow her. Rock-paper-scissors you?"

Anna stands and gives him a small smile. "It's okay. I got it- she's probably more upset with me than you, anyway." She leaves the table and walks after Elsa. "Els," she says softly, extending a hand as she approaches the older woman. "We're just joking around. We don't mean anything by it."

Elsa keeps walking, leaving the apartment and entering the hallway. Anna follows her.

When they make it into the hallway Elsa stops and leans her back against the wall, closing her eyes. "I know _you_ don't mean anything by it. Olaf just has a way of getting under my skin. He says things that he _knows _will upset me, and then when it happens he always ridicules me for taking things too seriously."

"Your bro kind of seems like a dick."

"Yeah." Elsa sighs as she slides down the wall.

Olaf had gone from cold to hot in a matter of days about Elsa and Anna's relationship. Elsa had a feeling that he was only going along with this so he could inject himself into the situation, and push her and Anna apart. It was just a hunch at first, but his actions tonight are so far confirming it- he has never been this adamant about making her feel uncomfortable.

She doesn't know how to confront him about this because she isn't a confrontational person. Any confrontation with him also has a high chance of just ending badly and she wants to avoid that. She can't tell Anna, because Anna will definitely do or say something about it.

Anna sits next to Elsa and leans her head on the older woman's shoulder. "Maybe he's not a dick, per se, but he does have a wry sense of humor. I guess I just thought you'd be used to it. I'm sorry if you felt like we were teaming up on you. I mean if I had to pick teams, I'd always be on yours."

Elsa puts her hand on Anna's thigh and gives it a reassuring squeeze. "I know, Anna."

Anna looks up at Elsa and places a kiss on her cheek. "Lets just try to get through the night, okay? I'll stick up for you if he says anything mean. I promise."


	15. Laser Tag

Anna bounces on the balls of her feet with her hands shoved into the pockets of her dark jacket. They hadn't even made it to the front of the line, but she was already filled with adrenaline and excitement. "I've never told anyone about how much I love laser tag. I always thought they'd think I was a huge dork… and I have an image to maintain." She looks to Elsa who seems more like a mother with an excited teenager, than a wiling participant in the game. "Hey, bud- you wussed out on paintball, so you owe me this."

Elsa shrugs as she digs the toe of her shoe into the dark carpet. "You _are_ a huge dork…" she starts, her face expressionless, "but you're a cute one." Elsa tilts her head and gives the younger girl a smile as she watches her try to contain her excitement. "I'm not that good at this."

Anna laughs as she grabs Elsa's arm and shakes it. "It isn't that hard, you just point the laser and pull the trigger. Keep both hands- ehh they explain it all when we get in there." She starts bouncing in circles as the line moves forward.

"Stop it, Anna. You're making me nervous."

They get to the front of the line and a small brunette woman comes from behind a door. "You two can come in, we have room."

Anna turns to Elsa with a smile. "Yes!" She then runs through the door that the woman is holding open.

Elsa walks past the woman and offers her a warm smile. "She's just a little excited." She enters a small holding room and sees Anna running down the line of vests searching for the perfect one. Elsa just walks up to the closest one and takes it off the hook. She tries maneuvering it, before realizing she has no idea how to get the thing on.

The woman comes up to her and offers a hand. "I could help you with that. Is it your first time?"

Elsa starts to speak, but a voice comes from behind her. "Hey, I can help her- you should see if anyone else needs assistance." Elsa knows the voice. She watches as the brunette looks down and shrinks away before she turns around- meeting the eyes of her ex-girlfriend, Melissa.

Melissa is taller than Elsa, and she has pink hair and green eyes. She's wearing red lipstick and she has a blue nose ring. She smiles down at Elsa as she takes the vest from her hands. "Thanks," Elsa whispers as she drops her eyes from the woman's gaze.

She feels a warm hand under her chin, lifting her head back up. "It's odd meeting you here after all this time. Small world, huh?" The woman puts the vest over Elsa's head before leaning over to buckle it. She pulls the strap, tightening it around Elsa's body. "Is that snug enough? Or too tight… too loose?" She lifts a brow at Elsa.

Elsa nods her head for a few seconds, before finding her words. "No- yeah, it's good. Thank you." She feels someone grabbing at her hand and she turns to see Anna as the flat-screens above them begin to light up.

Anna leans her head on Elsa's shoulder. "Now we have to watch this _boring _video." Elsa laughs nervously and looks up at the screen. The video tells them the rules like no running or horse playing- Anna rolls her eyes at each one. "This is freaking common sense." Elsa looks to her other side but Melissa has disappeared.

When the video ends the small brunette opens the door to the arena. "Play safe, and have fun guys." Everyone starts to pile out of the room as loud music begins to fill the walls of the arena. When everyone makes it out, the brunette shuts the door. There is a countdown, and when it reaches zero, people start running all over. Elsa turns to Anna, but the younger girl sprints off, already shooting people with her laser gun.

Elsa looks down at her glowing vest right as it makes a noise and the light goes out. "Gotcha!" She turns to see a young boy running away. She then begins to walk around the dark room, the only lights being the glowing bases and various glow in the dark swirls on walls. After a few seconds her vest lights up, only for it to be deactivated again. She sighs. _I hate this. _

Elsa goes to sit in a corner, hiding from the other players. _I don't know why I agreed to this. _She looks down at her gun before placing it on the floor. The neon lights and loud music were giving her a headache, but she couldn't figure out why she suddenly felt so down. _Melissa. _The name floats through her mind. That was it. That was why she was no longer in the mood to play. _Why is Melissa even here?_ Elsa shakes her head and tries to suppress the thought of the pink-haired woman. She stays in the corner for several minutes, before realizing it's not fair to Anna if she doesn't actually play.

Elsa stands and walks from behind the wall that had been shielding her. She takes one step, before her vest is deactivated again. _Jeez. _She takes a couple more steps, and then she feels herself being pulled in a different direction. She turns to see Melissa holding her arm. "Come on, I know the perfect spot." Elsa turns and starts to follow the taller woman, unsure of why her legs were so willing to go along with this, when minutes before she had been trying to shut the thought of Melissa out of her mind.

She follows her through many twists and turns and through various tunnels and walled areas. They make it to a dark corner with three walls shielding them, and a fourth wall not too far off. The only entrance to the space is about three feet wide. Elsa turns to Melissa flushed from keeping up with her fast pace. "You can't see anything back here. I'm pretty sure people don't even know this part of the arena exists."

"That's why it's perfect."

"Wh-" Elsa drops her gun from her hand and it smacks against the wall behind her with a clank. She doesn't hear it because she's too focused on the woman who now has her lips pressed to her mouth. She feels her back mash against the wall. She wants to protest, but there is something inside of her blocking her words. She lifts her hands to push away but instead finds them tangling themselves in the sleeves of the taller woman's shirt.

Their lips stay pressed together for what seems like forever. Neither one of them makes a move to deepen the kiss. Eventually, Melissa pulls away and looks down into the shorter woman's eyes. "Elsa, I've missed you so much. Olaf told me you'd be here, and I tried not to come, I really did- but I needed to see you." She leans down to kiss Elsa again, but Elsa turns her head.

"Olaf... told you I'd be here?" She's out of breath, and confused. She isn't sure what's going on, or why Olaf would tell her ex-girlfriend that she was going to laser tag with her new girlfriend… especially when he knew she wouldn't be able to identify Anna as such.

"Yeah," Melissa responds plainly, obviously not thinking much of it.

'Why would he do that?" Elsa whispers, speaking more to herself than to Melissa.

"What?"

Elsa turns to face Melissa. "Why would he tell you that? He knows-" The music stops- signaling the game is over. Elsa looks away defeatedly as she pulls away from the taller woman, turning to exit the arena. Melissa starts to follow her, but Elsa picks up her pace. After a few seconds Elsa stops abruptly and turns around. "I can't do this right now, Melissa. Just… respect that. _Please._" Melissa lets out a breath before pressing her lips together and giving Elsa a respectful nod. She then walks past the blonde to exit the arena.

Elsa waits a few moments before starting to walk again. When she makes it to the small holding area she quickly removes her vest, before walking out. She looks around for Anna, but her arm is grabbed for the second time. Thinking it may be Melissa again, she turns around angrily- but she is instead met by Anna's bright blue eyes. "Sorry I left you. I thought you were right behind me. I looked for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere- so I kinda just kept playing."

Elsa shakes her head. "It's fine. I'm- I was okay. I did okay."

Anna smiles and nods before turning around and looking at the screen above them. Names begin to appear on the screen next to a score and a ranking. Anna looks to Elsa. "Which one were you?"

"Huh?"

Anna lifts a brow. "The name on your gun… who were you?"

"Oh, I was Agent Parker," Elsa says, suddenly reminded that they were being tracked.

Elsa looks up at the board and sees Agent Parker at the bottom with 10 points. Anna turns to her with a quizzical expression. "Elsa, what were you doing? You got like zero points. I've never seen anyone that bad at this." Elsa shrugs and looks away. She doesn't even know how she got those ten points. "It's okay. We can play another round," Anna says warmly.

Elsa looks down as she slowly drags her shoe across the carpet. "I'm not really up for another round."

Anna lets out a small laugh. "C'mon, maybe this time if you don't stop to try and put on lipstick in the dark, it won't go so bad." Elsa's eyes widen as she quickly raises her arm to wipe her mouth. _Shit._


	16. Infuriated

Elsa stares at her computer screen, watching the little blue 'S' expectantly. She was already regretting her decision to agree to this Skype interview. She had been receiving multiple emails a week requesting interviews, and she had finally caved in to one. She needed to get blogs and interviewers off her back, but she was in no mood to talk about anything right now- especially not Anna. She needed to tell Anna about Melissa. She needed to yell at Olaf about Melissa. She needed to get her life back in order. Lately it seemed like she was constantly rebuilding her life, only for it to fall apart again.

The little blue 'S' starts to bounce and her computer starts beeping, notifying her she's getting a call. Elsa takes in a deep breath, before pressing the green accept button.

"Hey, Elsa!" A small brown-haired man beams at her from the other side of the screen. Elsa groans inwardly. _This guy is way too excited for me to fake my way through this. _After waiting a few seconds for Elsa to respond -and getting no answer- he continues to talk. "Well, my name is Duke, as you know, and I'm gonna be asking you a few questions."

Elsa puts on her best fake smile and nods. "Yeah, sounds simple enough."

Duke nods and looks down at a paper on his desk. "Okay, lets jump right in then. Some things have changed since you saved Anna's life. You're no longer a teacher?" He lifts a brow at Elsa through the camera.

Elsa mindlessly scratches at the armrest on her desk chair. "Yeah. I work for Mr. Perelman's company now."

"Are you still interested in med school?"

Elsa stares wide-eyed at her computer screen. "What?"

The small man scratches at his mustache before speaking. "That _was _your original goal wasn't it? Med school?"

"Yeah... I was just wondering how you knew that?"

"I have my sources."

Elsa swallows. Her eyes stray from the screen as she feels her skin begin to heat up. _Calm down Els, it's not like med school was a secret. _She closes her eyes and nods, signaling to Duke that she understands. _But some things are secrets. _She blinks the thought away before responding to him. "Yeah. Med school is still the goal."

He nods as he writes down some notes on his paper. "Don't you think TFA is a better program- I mean assuming you were just doing it to beef up your application. Why break your contract in the middle of your first school year to take a job that won't look as nice on an application?"

"I guess I wanted new experiences." Elsa shrugs. She isn't in a good enough mental state to give proper thought to these questions.

"Being a doctor takes dedication, Elsa. You can't just pick it up and drop it if you decide it's not your cup of tea."

Elsa takes in a deep breath. "I know that." She nods. "I just meant that everyone goes the TFA-med school route. I wanted to be different- have a different experience, and this opportunity seemed too great to pass up."

Duke writes down more notes on his paper. "Is that why you did it? To open up some great opportunities?"

"Huh?"

He looks up at the camera. "Is that why you went to save Anna?"

She shakes her head. "No, she was my student-"

"A student that hit you in the face with a tennis ball," he interrupts.

Elsa clears her throat and tries to gather her thoughts. "I don't choose which students lives are worth saving, and which one's aren't. They are all equally important."

He smirks as he shifts in his seat. "Okay. So you saved her as a purely selfless act? Sorry if I'm coming off as rude, it just seems a little too good to be true if you two weren't necessarily on good terms. I mean it's not every day you fracture your skull to save someone you don't like…" He pauses. "-but you two like each other now. You've been spending a lot of time together?"

Elsa runs a hand through her hair. "I never said I didn't like her. She was just kind of troubled… and yeah, we're friends."

"Is that how you see her? As a troubled teen?"

"No-"

"Then what exactly is the nature of your relationship," he interrupts. He holds up a photo of Elsa and Anna walking. Anna is holding onto Elsa's arm, smiling warmly at the older woman. "You seem a little _affectionate_."

Elsa freezes. Her heart starts to pound, and she realizes she wants to be anywhere but here. She shakes her head. "I thought you wanted to know about what happened with the hiking accident- I didn't know you wanted to spin lies and falsely accuse me of things. I don't want to do this interview anymore."

"Els-"

Elsa slams her laptop shut and lifts herself from her seat. Things just keep going downhill. _Why can't people just leave me alone? _Olaf comes to mind and she figures she might as well get the other problem out of the way. She walks to her front door and opens it, heading across the hall. She knocks on Olaf's door and waits for him to answer.

He opens the door and looks down at her. "Els- I know you're a little mad at me right now, but-"

"A little," Elsa snaps, "I'm fucking infuriated Olaf." She wants to hit him, or scream... but she's afraid she might disturb the neighbors.

"Yes. I know that. I was-"

"Please, Olaf. Just save your shit for-"

Olaf grabs Elsa's shoulder and drags her into the apartment as he clamps his hand over her mouth. He then removes his hand from her shoulder and shuts the door. "I know I fucked up, but after I had dinner with you and Anna, I had this scary thought. I really like Anna. I see why you like Anna… and I thought that… _maybe _I wouldn't mind_ too_ much if she was a part of our little family. I was just a little scared, because… well if this doesn't work out, or if it ends badly… Anna leaving would kind of break my heart a little too. My actions after that were- well, they were careless." He releases Elsa's mouth.

She shakes her head. "You fucking sent Melissa-"

Olaf clamps his hand over Elsa's mouth again. "I know, Elsa. I'm trying to tell you I know how dumb that was. It was stupid... but I know how much you care about Anna, so I'm hoping it was just really awkward to see your ex... and that's all." He releases Elsa's mouth once more and backs away to give her room.

Elsa takes in a deep breath. She wishes that it had just been an awkward situation. "She kissed me... but I didn't really do anything to stop it." She releases the breath. "I know I don't ever want to get back together with her, but the passion was still there. There was that moment where I should have done something, but I didn't."

"Did you tell Anna?"

Elsa shakes her head. "No, I didn't tell Anna. I will after work tomorrow. Melissa wasn't exactly the best time of my life. I want Anna to know about that- even if it is hard to talk about. I really hate that you did that Olaf, but a little part of me is glad..." She stops and looks down for a moment before returning her glare to Olaf. "I mostly feel hate, though."

Olaf runs a hand through his hair. "Surprisingly enough... You're not as angry as I thought you'd be. I was sort of prepared for the worst. I'm so sorry that I did this."

Elsa folds her arms across her chest. "It's hard to be angry when I know you mean well... and I sort of need a shoulder to lean on. It would help if yours was a little less cold..." She pauses and tilts her head, "-_ice queen_."

Olaf laughs and walks back to Elsa. He pulls her into a warm hug. "Don't worry, Els. I'm here for you. No more stupid shit, I promise."


	17. Flagrant Bullshit

_Everything will be fine_.

Elsa keeps telling herself this as she walks toward her desk. Maybe if she says it enough, it will actually be true.

_Things will be fine. Don't worry. _

She keeps fixing her blouse as she walks, thinking that maybe people are watching her. They have to be watching her, otherwise her ears wouldn't feel this hot, and the hairs on the back of her neck wouldn't be standing up like they are.

_Everything is fine. _

She makes it to her desk and drops her bag, before taking off her jacket. She then straightens some papers and turns on her computer.

_Don't worry. _

She goes to check her work email and notices one from Anna's father, received ten minutes ago. _Shit. _She opens the email.

**See me in my office at 9:45am.**

Elsa checks her watch. It's 9:30.

_Everything is not fine. _

Elsa had overslept as a result of staying up too late talking to Olaf. It is the first time she has been late to work, and she had hoped that no one would notice, but now she is coming dangerously close to missing a, most likely important, meeting. She takes in a deep breath.

_He could want to meet about anything. _

Elsa stands from her desk to head toward the restroom. When she makes it there, she enters a stall and sits.

_Get it together, Els,_ she coaches herself,_ This could be about anything. _

She looks at her watch. 9:35. _Okay, just breath, Els. It's okay. _She tries to focus on something good happening in her life. She had solved one of her problems already. Olaf had apologized last night, so she doesn't have to worry about him messing with her and Anna's relationship anymore. Her breathing slows.

Elsa checks her watch again. 9:38. _Crap. _She leaves the stall and exits the restroom. She then walks to the elevators and presses the up button. Her palms start sweating and she can't figure out why she's so nervous.

_Probably because I'm dating his daughter. _

Elsa shakes her head.

He doesn't know about that. How could he know about that? There is absolutely no way for him to no, save for the off chance that he was told by either Anna or Olaf. Neither one of them would do that to her, would they? Elsa tries to search for something calming inside of her, but she keeps coming up empty.

After a few moments the elevator arrives, and she steps in and presses the top floor.

She watches the number go up as the elevator ascends. She keeps hoping it will stop at another floor, buying her time, but no one seems to be calling for it.

_Just my luck. _

The elevator reaches the top floor and Elsa looks down at her watch again. 9:42. The elevator doors then opens and she walks out toward Mr. Perelman's office. His door is open and she can see him at his desk.

Elsa slows down her movements, but he looks up and sees her. He then stands from his desk and motions her in. She walks into the large office and swallows.

It's intimidating.

She would make a size comparison to her own office- but she doesn't even have one. She just has a desk. The room she is standing in could easily be bigger than her apartment.

Mr. Perelman crosses behind her to shut the door. "Sit, Ms. Askeland." Elsa looks at the chair in front of his desk and then at the couch in the corner of his office. She figures he meant the chair, so she walks toward that.

She takes a seat as he returns to his desk and sits in his large office chair. "Good morning," she manages to squeak out. She looks down at her hands.

He stares at her blankly before putting his elbow on his desk and resting his face in his hand. "Forgive me if I skip the pleasantries, Ms. Askeland… but I wanted to jump right in and say that I know you didn't save Anna's life for the money- you have gone against my offers at every step of the way."

Elsa looks up, her eyes wide. She tries to speak, but nothing comes out. She nods instead.

Anna's father lifts his head and stands from his chair. He then places his hands on his desk and leans toward Elsa as he grits his teeth, his jaw clenching. "I also want you to know that I know you're not _dating_ my daughter." He pauses and swallows, his adams apple twitching in exasperation.

Elsa's heart starts to race. She takes in a shaky breath and tries to maintain eye contact. 'Wh-… yeah," she whispers out, barely audible.

"That filth offends me just as much as it offends you. It is not _only_ insulting your integrity as a professional but also your intelligence -in general- and as an employee of mine. Normally I don't delve into internet gossip, but I felt this should be addressed." He slaps his hand on the desk and it takes everything inside of Elsa to not jump out of her chair.

She slowly nods her head, suddenly feeling intimidated by his presence. "It's okay." Her voice comes out small, almost a whisper. Her mind races until it finds what it is searching for. _The interview. Shit. _Duke must have posted the interview on his website, and made some accusations about the nature of Elsa and Anna's relationship.

Mr. Perelman takes his hands off the desk and runs one though his hair. "It's not okay. You saved Anna's life. She's doing better in school because of you. She's happier and looking at colleges. You have been nothing but helpful to this family and to see your image be degraded by such flagrant bullshit deeply pisses me off." He starts to pace, his anger rising.

Elsa locks her fingers together in her lap. "I'm really sorry, I thought if I did an interview they'd stop bothering me. I never meant for any of this to happen."

He turns to Elsa, his features softening greatly. "I know that, Elsa. This isn't your fault. I know. You don't have to apologize for the lies being told about you. Don't worry, when I'm done with this guy he won't be able to get a job even if he gives away his labor for free." Mr. Perelman swiftly walks around the desk and places a firm hand on Elsa's shoulder. "No one messes with my family. You don't deserve this."

Somewhere in Elsa's mind she is vaguely aware that he just referred to her as family… but that sentiment gets lost in the complete horror of his threat. Elsa tries to take a breath, but instead finds her chest heaving and she ends up gasping for air. Mr. Perelman kneels in front of her. Her eyes widen. "Sorry," she breathes out. "I just need some space- air. Restroom."

Mr. Perelman takes her shaking hand and helps her to her feet. He all but carries her to a corner of his office and opens a door that had been hidden amongst the shelves. "Here, use my bathroom. Take all the time you need. I'll be out here." He goes to shut the door behind Elsa but pauses for a moment. "I didn't mean to upset you Ms. Askeland. I'm very sorry." He shuts the door and Elsa drops to the ground.

She starts to frantically feel around her body for her phone. When she finds it she unlocks it and immediately heads for the browser. She clumsily types in her name and the first thing to show up is an entry on Duke's website. She clicks the link and a sad face shows up in the center of the screen.

**_Sorry, this page no longer exists._**

Elsa drops her phone to the ground and runs a hand through her hair. How did he already have the article taken down? _What have I gotten myself into?_ She slides on the floor until her back is firmly placed against a wall. She tries to slow her breathing down- the last thing she needed was to start hyperventilating in Anna's Father's office. Her phone starts beeping and she looks at it, reluctantly reaching for it.

When she picks it up she sees Anna is calling and she hits accept. Anna's voice fills her ear. "Yo… Els, what gives? I know I said I wouldn't mind if our relationship wasn't a secret- but to like put it out there on a website that everyone reads, without telling me, is a little much. People are asking me questions and Hans is being a douche. Kristoff is acting weird. I haven't really confirmed or denied anything to anyone… but you should have talked to me."

A tears falls down Elsa's cheek as she closes her eyes and leans her head against the wall. "I didn't, Anna. I wouldn't-"

"I know I was sort of pestering you about this but… _jeez_, if you're doing this to make a point like… okay, I get it. You didn't have to do that." Anna stops speaking and waits for Elsa to respond.

Elsa gulps for air through her mouth, her crying making it hard to breathe through her nose. She doesn't have the strength to fight with Anna. She needs Anna on her side right now. She lets out a whimper as her body shakes from the force of her crying. _How did my entire life go to shit in twenty-four hours?_ Elsa brings her knees to her chest and leans her head down. She can hear Anna breathing on the other end of the phone.

Elsa starts to gently rock back and forth, calming herself. Eventually her tears stop falling, and she's able to speak again. She needed to say something to get Anna to stop attacking her. "Anna," her voice comes out hoarse and soft. She barely recognizes it. "I love you." She had felt this way for a while, but she hadn't said it yet. Now that she felt like this relationship was going over a cliff, she needed to get it out... at least once.

Anna is silent. Elsa's grip on the phone tightens. She feels another tear trickle down her cheek but she presses her lips together and forces herself to not break down again. After what seems like an eternity, Elsa hears Anna clear her throat. "It's okay, Elsa. I'll come get you. Where are you? At work? I'm on my way."

Elsa feels her body loosen a bit, hearing the calming strength in Anna's voice. She sniffs hard, desperately trying to keep whatever is in her nose from dripping down her lip. "You can't, Anna. Your Dad will be angry," she says pleadingly.

"I don't care, Elsa."

A small whimper escapes Elsa's throat as her attempts to stifle her cries weaken. "He's gonna destroy me like he's gonna destroy Duke," she cries out.

Anna lets out a frustrated breath and Elsa can't tell if she's angry at her or her father. It's silent on the other end of the phone, but after a minute Anna finally speaks up. "If I can't come to you Elsa, I'm going to need you to calm down."

Elsa wants to calm down, but she can't. She has too many things running through her mind to be calm right now. She needs to know that her relationship with Anna is solid. She needs to know that they can get through this. She needs to tell Anna about Melissa. "I kissed the girl with the pink hair at laser tag." The sentence leaves her mouth before she can even give it a second thought.

"I know, Elsa," Anna says, her voice calm and resigned. "I saw her dragging you away, and then you came out with her lipstick on. Do you like her?"

"No." Elsa shakes her head.

Anna lets out a relieved breath. "Well okay, that's settled. Shit happens. Just… try not to do it again."

Elsa brings her head up as she wipes her eye with the heel of her hand. "We used to date."

"That's fine."

Elsa takes in a breath, already feeling better now that she had the incident off her chest. "She broke up with me and-"

"Elsa, I really don't give a shit about her," Anna snaps. When she starts to speak again her voice is soft and calm. "I do however give a shit about you… and I need you to calm down. I don't care what happens after this- I will stick by your side."

Elsa closes her eyes and smiles to herself, happy to hear those words coming from Anna's mouth. She is then reminded of the fact that Anna's father is still waiting for her to come out of his bathroom. She takes in a deep breath through her nose, and releases it through her mouth. "I have to go, Anna. I need to go."

"Okay. Just try to get through the rest of the day," Anna says quietly. "And Els-" She pauses.

Elsa runs a hand through her hair. "Yeah?"

"I love you, too."


	18. Slightly Intoxicated

Elsa opens the door to her apartment. She keeps one hand on the doorknob, the other gripping a half-filled glass of vodka. Her eyes are red, and her expression serious. She had gotten through the rest of her work day just fine, but when she made it home she started to fall apart.

Anna stands in the hallway, keeping a respectable distance from Elsa as she looks her over. Without saying anything she reaches forward and takes the glass from Elsa's hand, finishing the rest of the drink. She then walks past the older woman, into the apartment. "Guess I can't drive home tonight."

Elsa lets out a breath as she continues to stare into the hallway. "Guess not," she whispers as she shuts the door. She can't mentally handle an argument with Anna right now- and she doesn't really want her to leave.

Elsa turns to face Anna and the younger girl turns around, shaking her head. "I don't want to talk about it. Not right now. Lets just... not think about that tonight."

Elsa looks down at the floor. She swallows as she lets Anna's words float around in her head. _I don't want to talk about it. _Elsa didn't want to talk about it either. _Fucking Duke._ She looks up and takes in a deep breath, pressing her lips into a straight line. "Wasn't even gonna bring it up," she says with a shrug.

She stumbles forward a bit and Anna walks to her, grabbing her hand. "Good, because I wanted to talk about something equally problematic, and slightly awkward- but totally stimulating… for conversation."

Elsa squints at Anna. _She's so pretty. _"You want to talk," Elsa asks, lifting a brow.

Anna starts to smile. "Yeah. I want to talk." She lets out a small laugh as she drags Elsa toward the couch, sitting her down. She then places the glass on the table and takes a seat next to the older woman.

Elsa scratches at the fabric of her jeans before looking over to Anna. "What do you want to talk about?"

Anna tilts her head from side to side. She then turns her body toward Elsa, lifting her legs onto the couch and crossing them. "We can think of this as sort of an exercise… to strengthen our relationship. We need to work on communicating." Anna inches back on the couch. "You should sit like this and face me."

"Okay," Elsa says. She slowly positions herself with her legs crossed on the couch, facing Anna. She lets out a breath. "What now?"

Anna jumps right into the conversation. "There are things about you that I don't know… a lot of things," she starts. "I know you don't want to… just… bring them up- but I hate finding out bits and pieces about you through very intense and triggering experiences. The situations aren't really fair because... I can't properly react to some stuff while you're freaking out. It ends up being you spitting out information that you don't want to, and me just accepting it. Not a good dynamic." Anna takes in a deep breath and lets it out. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Elsa isn't sure what Anna is talking about, but she nods. _I want to kiss you.__  
><em>

"Good. Okay. We agree." She gives Elsa a small smile. "So I thought that maybe if you were more comfortable talking to me, that you could open up about stuff that's hard for you to talk about... in a setting where you didn't feel pressured to say something bold or admit something you didn't want to."

Elsa looks down at her hands. "Okay. Maybe." She feels warm, and she can't figure out why. _Maybe it's the alcohol.. or maybe I'm just turned on. _She shakes her head. _No, Anna wants to talk, not sex._

Anna nods. "Yeah." She pauses. "So that's why maybe we can first talk about something that is sort of a little bit uncomfortable… for me. Then maybe we can trade off and bring up a topic that is a little hard for you. We can switch off until we feel safe enough to talk about bigger stuff."

Elsa shrugs, still looking at her hands. "Okay." Her voice is small and nearly inaudible. _I don't really want to talk about anything right now. _She sighs and tries to focus more on the conversation.

Anna clears her throat, gently placing her hand on Elsa's knee. Elsa looks up into Anna's concerned eyes. "We're just coming up to something that will be really hard on our relationship… and I need to know that in the midst of all the ensuing chaos, that you won't confuse who _is_ on your side and who_ isn't._"

"You're on my side, Anna" Elsa says with a nod. "I really want this to work out for us." _I really want to have sex. _Elsa rubs her eyes, and offers Anna a smile.

Anna lets out a relieved sigh. "Me too," she nods. "But we have to trust each other -and not just with the easy stuff- but with the hard stuff as well. I hate looking at you and having no idea what you could be thinking."

Elsa places her hand over Anna's and gives her a weak smile. "I don't like that feeling either."Elsa looks around before returning her stare to Anna. She clears her throat. "So…," she starts, unsure of what to say.

Anna pulls her hand away and runs it through her hair. She then takes in a deep breath before looking around the room. "This is actually harder than I thought," she laughs, nervously. "Okay." She pauses. "When I said it was my first time… it kind of wasn't my first time." She clears her throat and her eyes wander, looking everywhere but Elsa's.

Elsa nods her head and reaches over to cup Anna's cheek. She smiles as Anna finally looks her in the eyes. "It's okay. It wasn't my first time either." She lets out a small laugh. "Why did you lie to me," she asks as her smile turns into a frown. "I was _so _nervous 'cause you said that."

Anna shakes her head. "I wasn't… it was just _one_ other time, and it was weird and not that great. I just wanted to forget about it- plus I really didn't want to admit I had sex with _Hans_."

Elsa's eyes widen. "Hans? I asked you- you could have just said yes." Her voice comes out louder than she had expected it to. _I don't like Hans._

Anna looks down. "It's not that simple."

Elsa closes her eyes and mentally scolds herself. "Sorry," she says, opening her eyes. "I'm not being very good at making you feel comfortable about this. Why isn't it that simple?"_ Get your shit together, Elsa. At least act sober enough for this. _Elsa blinks a few times, trying to will away the intoxication.

"Because-" Anna looks around as she bites down on her lip. "I sort of already tried to talk to you about it."

Elsa looks to Anna quizzically. "When?" She desperately searches her mind for the conversation she seems to be missing. _I didn't realize I was this drunk. _

Anna looks her in the eyes. "The night I called you to come get me- after Hans and I broke up. I mean I didn't really know you that well. You were just the new coach, but you seemed to be genuinely interested in our well being. So I thought maybe I could talk to you about it, but I don't know. I felt like you were purposely shutting down the conversation."

Elsa shakes her head. "I wasn't trying to... I didn't... I'm sorry." _We apparently remember that conversation differently. _Elsa scratches her head as she tries to figure out where Anna got that impression.

Anna nods as she sighs. "I know. Well I didn't know… at the time. I don't really try opening up to a lot of people… so I was sort of mad at you." She pauses. "That's kind of where most of that rage stemmed from… when I hit you… with the ball." She looks down at her hands. "Sorry."

"Oh." _  
><em>

Anna lets out a shy laugh. "Yeah. I felt really bad about that… afterwards." She clears her throat. "So uhm, yeah. That's it."

"Okay. Now I tell you a secret," Elsa asks. _What am I going to say?_

Anna holds up a hand. "Nah, you're uhm.. you're kind of drunk."

Elsa smiles. "I am _slightly_ intoxicated," she says with a laugh. _I drank half a bottle of vodka. _She laughs even more at the thought, but she can't figure out why it's so funny.

"You deserve to be _slightly_ intoxicated," Anna says with a wink.

Elsa nods as she leans forward. "You deserve… a nice back rub- which _I_ can give you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Elsa replies, nodding vigorously.

Anna lifts a brow. "Should I take my shirt off?"

Elsa's smile broadens. "Yeah_._" _Thank you, Jesus.__  
><em>

Anna leans forward, her face almost touching Elsa's. "You aren't going to try and take advantage of me or anything, right? This is just a back rub."

Elsa shakes her head as she giggles. "Nope."

Anna leans back and quickly lifts her shirt over her head before turning around. "Okay, Els. Lets see what you got."

Elsa scoots behind Anna, placing her hands on the younger girls shoulders. "Are my hands warm enough?"

"They're perfect," Anna replies.

Elsa moves Anna's hair off her back, placing it over her shoulder. "If anything is uncomfortable or painful, just let me know."

Anna nods as she closes her eyes. "Mmhm."

Elsa places her hands on Anna's lower back and begins to move up, using her thumbs to put slight pressure on the muscles around Anna's spine. She passes Anna's shoulder blades and gently grips her shoulders.

She then moves her hands in closer to Anna's neck and softly squeezes. She smiles. "So this is called the trapezius." She gently shakes Anna before placing slight pressure on the area with her palms. "It's a tense region for a lot of people."

Anna takes in a breath. "Mmm anatomy lesson _and _a massage. I like," she says with a smile.

Elsa chuckles lightly as she squeezes the area again, this time with more pressure. She then slowly inches down Anna's back, applying even more pressure. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah, it's great," Anna softly breathes out.

Elsa leans forward, gently taking the top of Anna's ear between her teeth. _Just one nibble, that's all. _She bites down softly. "This?"

"Yeah." Anna's voice is airy as she stretches out the word.

Elsa takes this as a sign that she can continue. She starts trailing kisses from Anna's ear, down the line of her jaw. She stops when she's next to Anna's mouth. She then uses her thumbs to apply pressure between Anna's shoulder blade and vertebral column. "How's that," she whispers into the corner of Anna's mouth.

"Els," Anna says pleadingly. Her body loosens as she starts to melt in Elsa's hands.

"Guess it's good," Elsa breathes, smiling into the side of Anna's mouth.

Anna smiles. "I think this would be considered taking advantage, Els. I thought this was just a back rub."

Elsa lifts a hand and tangles it in Anna's hair. She then gently tilts her head back, turning it slightly so that their lips are touching. "Sometimes-," Elsa says, pressing harder into Anna's lips. "-you talk too much." Anna lets out a small laugh as she opens her mouth, inviting Elsa in. Elsa pushes her tongue into Anna's mouth, deepening the kiss.

Anna momentarily pulls her mouth away. "This is the _best_ back rub I've ever had." She returns her lips to Elsa's as the older woman starts to giggle again.

Elsa slides her hand around Anna's waist, pulling the younger girl in to her. She then moves her hand up Anna's stomach, softly caressing her smooth skin until she reaches her breast. She gently squeezes it through the bra before breaking the kiss. She smiles before trailing her lips tantalizingly slow along Anna's cheek. She finally makes it to her destination, firmly pressing them to Anna's ear. "You're so... feel so good."

Anna bites down on her lip as she tries to stifle a laugh. "You're really drunk, Elsie," she says warmly as she pulls the older woman's hands from her body. "As much as I want to have sex-" She sighs. "It's probably not a good idea."

Anna gets off the couch and looks down at Elsa as the older woman starts to shake her head. "No. Not drunk. We can have sex," she says with a serious tone.

Anna laughs and bends forward, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Okay, we can have sex... after you drink a glass of water." She walks away and Elsa lies down on the couch, wrapping her arms around a pillow. The pillow is soft, and she feels happy knowing that Anna will be with her the whole night. _It's our first sleepover._ She smiles and closes her eyes as she begins to drift off.


	19. I won't Melt Away

Elsa groans into her pillow as she groggily kicks the covers from her legs. A wave of pain rolls through her head. _Shit. _She slowly lifts herself and swings her legs over the side of the bed. She then presses her palm to her forehead and tries to soothe her headache.

She stands and takes one step before she sees stars sparkling in her vision. _Double shit. Need to sit back down. _She takes a seat on the bed and lets the dizziness pass. _Worst idea I've ever had. _She feels like crap, but oddly enough, she had expected to feel even worse.

After a moment Elsa stands again and takes a tentative step. When her vision isn't plagued with little sparkling lights, she starts to make her way out of the bedroom. She walks out into the living area and immediately sees Anna on the couch, texting. Elsa tilts her head. "Why are you here," she asks, confused. Her voice is hoarse. She tries to clear her throat.

Anna looks up from her phone and beams at Elsa. "I slept here. How are you feeling?"

Elsa squints her eyes at the light coming from the ceiling as she approaches Anna. "Probably better than I should be. When did the lights in this house become so bright?" She raises her hand and shields her eyes as she takes a seat on the couch.

Anna starts to laugh. "I guess you can thank me for your hangover being not as bad as it could be."

"And why is that?"

Anna rolls her eyes. "I'm the one who got you to drink like four glasses of water."

Elsa smiles and lifts a brow in Anna's direction. "How'd you manage that? I normally don't listen to anyone when I'm drunk." Elsa lets out a laugh.

"I just kept telling you I'd have sex with you if you drank another. Eventually you gave up and decided you'd rather go to sleep," Anna says, nonchalantly.

Elsa nods. "Thanks. Where'd you sleep?"

"With you," Anna says. "You slept like a log and snored, but it was kind of cute." She stands from the couch. "We should make ourselves something to eat. It's 11:30. I want breakfast." Anna turns and walks to the kitchen area.

Elsa closes her eyes and lets out a breath. "Your father is going to kill me. You didn't go home last night… and now you're missing school, and I'm missing work. This doesn't look good." She gets up and follows Anna to the kitchen.

Anna opens the refrigerator before looking over her shoulder. "It's okay. I'll just tell him you were upset and I didn't want to leave you alone- which really isn't that far from the truth."

Elsa sighs as she looks at Anna. "I'm sorry about that. That was pretty irresponsible of me." She takes in a deep breath and releases it. "I'm glad we have one adult in this relationship," she says, giving the younger girl a slight smile.

Anna smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. Something about that makes Elsa uncomfortable. Anna then turns away from Elsa, back to the refrigerator. "Sometimes people make bad decisions. They move on, and learn from them." She pauses. "Also, you've just been through a lot."

Elsa looks down and flicks the elastic of her pajama pants with her thumb. _How did I get into these?_ She looks up. "Yeah, but I keep making bad decisions. It's sort of the story of my life." Anna turns to face Elsa, and the older woman clears her throat. "Sorry- too early for that," she says jokingly.

Anna gives Elsa the same smile- the one that doesn't quite reach her eyes, as she turns back to the refrigerator. "It's never too early for you to open up to me."

Elsa takes in a breath. "I know you came here to talk about something last night."

Anna continues to search the refrigerator as she speaks. "I just thought we needed to communicate more, but it was a dumb idea, so don't worry about it." She grabs the milk.

Elsa runs a hand through her hair. "No, it's a good idea. I like that you told me about Hans."

Anna stops what she's doing and turns to Elsa. "You remember that?"

Elsa nods. "Yeah, it's not all a blur, just some of the smaller details… I remember that just fine though."

Anna shrugs before placing the milk on the counter. "That's good," she says quietly, "I probably wouldn't have repeated it. My problems aren't as significant as yours, so the whole 'trading' idea probably isn't fair." She goes to the refrigerator again and takes out the eggs.

Elsa walks over to Anna and gently grabs her arm, taking the eggs from her and placing them on the counter. She then looks Anna in the eyes. "I don't think your problems are smaller, or less important than mine- but I think that there are a lot of things that I am way less willing to talk about." She pauses. "But I can try. So…" She pauses again and looks around the room. "Just ask me about anything and I'll answer it to the best of my ability."

Elsa releases Anna's arm and Anna looks to the floor. "I don't know," she says softly. "Well," she starts, "you weren't necessarily... the best teacher. I mean excluding the fact that you're dating me- that's not the same thing. I just mean as far as in the classroom, separate from any of this."

Elsa shrugs. "You think I don't know that," she asks, taking a step back. She looks around the room, not sure where Anna is going with this.

Anna looks up, shaking her head. "No. I think you _do_ know that. I think that's why you quit… despite what you tell my dad or yourself- or anyone else for that matter. I think you knew the first day that you wouldn't be any good at it."

Elsa takes in a breath. "That's not a question, Anna."

Anna runs a hand through her hair. "I know." She pauses. "I'm just saying you cried like every day. I mean I've seen bad teachers, but you were _completely_ out of your element. Honestly, if I asked any other teacher if they were in a relationship, they would give me a straight answer- but you… you shut all possibilities of that conversation down."

"Anna, are you going to ask a question?"

"Why," Anna blurts out. "Why do something that makes you that miserable?"

Elsa shakes her head. "I didn't know it would make me miserable. I didn't know there would be students like Hans who only existed to make my life a living hell."

"Students like me?"

Elsa's eyes widen. "No-"

"I'm different," Anna asks, lifting a brow. "Why? Because you thought I was attractive?"

Elsa presses her lips together and looks down at her hands as she knots her fingers together. "I don't know what you want me to tell you, Anna."

"How about the truth," Anna says, abruptly. She stops herself and stares wide-eyed at Elsa, as if she is surprised by her own statement. She then takes a breath and continues. "Why'd you stick with the job for so long? Why did you put up with my shit?"

"Okay," Elsa says, looking up. Her tone signaling Anna to stop- that she gets the point. "I just... when I first met you I thought there was something about you that I could fix. That's why I thought I should do TFA. That's why I wanted to try teaching. I wanted to make a difference- do something positive."

Anna turns away from Elsa, hurt in her eyes. "I really didn't want you to read me your med school application, Elsa. Can you at least try here?"

Elsa runs a hand through her hair and starts to tap her foot. "I thought if I could fix other people... then I would maybe be a little less broken." _Jeez, is that what you want to hear? How messed up I am? _Elsa starts to regret agreeing to this conversation.

Anna nods and turns back to Elsa. "Okay... You said _thought_- What changed?"

"I changed." The words leave Elsa's mouth before she can even think them. She takes in a breath. The space between the two grows silent and Elsa looks to the floor. "I guess I realized that I wasn't going to find any validation in..." She pauses. "... doing that," she finishes quietly. She looks back up. "I thought I could make a difference, but I can't... so I just kind of accepted it."

Anna nods. "Is that why you took the job with my dad?"

"Yeah." Elsa shrugs. "I thought that maybe I wouldn't be such a great doctor. I should just..." She trails off as she lets out a breath. "I honestly would have taken any offer to get away from that school. Everyday was just a constant reminder that..." She shrugs again. "I don't know."

"Well you had a hard time teaching, but... that doesn't necessarily translate," Anna says, shaking her head, "-you could still make a great doctor."

"It doesn't matter," Elsa says with a shrug. "It's never gonna fix..." She looks away. "I didn't really want to be a doctor anyway."

"It's not going to fix what, Elsa?"

Elsa shakes her head. "Nothing... it doesn't matter," she says, dismissively.

Anna sighs as she turns back around. "Okay. I can start the eggs, if you want to get some bacon out… unless you don't want breakfast food. I _really_ want breakfast food." She opens the box of eggs and begins taking them out.

Elsa stares at the side of Anna's face for what feels like an eternity. She isn't sure what just happened. _Did I do something wrong?_ She really was trying to answer Anna's questions. _I just can't answer some things without talking about- _Elsa slams her hand against her forehead. _No. _"Anna-"

Anna turns and holds up a hand. "I'm scared, Elsa. I feel like I'm the only one fighting for this relationship. I know you love me. I honestly don't doubt that, but you're not actively trying to keep me here. I keep trying, but- I don't know how to do this. You need to give me something."

Elsa is silent for a moment, shocked by Anna's words. She walks to the fridge and begins to rub at a spot on the stainless steel. "I don't want you to feel like you have to be here. I wouldn't really be telling you the truth if I said you make me happy... but I can say that you give me hope that I can _be_ happy." Elsa closes her eyes and leans her forehead against the refrigerator. "I don't want you to be a part of this. That's why I stopped talking to you after we kissed in the mall. I was giving you a way out."

Anna opens a cabinet and takes out a large bowl. She then sets it on the counter and cracks an egg, dropping the yolk into the bowl. "I wasn't really looking for a way out then... and I'm not looking for a way out now. I'm looking for a way in... a way into your head. Honestly, if you can open up to Olaf and not me-"

"Olaf doesn't know anything about me." Elsa lifts her head and looks over at Anna. "I mean he's known me since sixth grade, and he thinks he _knows_ me- but he's one of those people that just projects on to others. He doesn't ask you how you're feeling or why- he just tells you. That's what I like about him. I can be his friend without trying. He does all of the work."

Anna rolls her eyes as she cracks another egg. "Well it's gotta feel shitty when he unknowingly says something triggering... like at dinner." She looks over at Elsa. "I don't want that to be us. In a couple of years I don't want to seem like the douche that's purposely upsetting you, when in reality I just don't know enough about you to _not_ upset you."

"This is weird," Elsa says, her mood suddenly changing. Her face twists into anger as her breathing picks up. She's had enough of this topic and she doesn't want to talk about it anymore. She wants Anna to leave. _This is dumb._

Anna shakes her head and sighs. "What's weird?"

Elsa waves her hand between them. "_This _is weird. Talking about this. Doing this." She runs a hand through her hair. "I don't want to do this. I don't want to talk about this. You should just go home to your fucking perfect life. You don't have to be a part of this. You can walk away. Don't... fucking criticize me. No one is making you stay here."

Anna sighs. "You don't have to do that with me, Elsa," she says softly.

Elsa turns and walks from the kitchen, towards the couch. "I would ask, but I honestly don't fucking care anymore." She takes a seat on the couch and angrily twists at the fabric of the cushions.

Anna puts the egg in her hand on the counter and calmly walks from the kitchen, to the living area. She stands in front of Elsa, looking down at the older woman. "You do care. I want to tell you it will be okay, but I can't really know because..." She pauses and looks down at her shirt, taking the hem between her fingers. "You're like a snowflake," she says softly. "You're beautiful and unique and I feel like if I try holding you too tight, you'll just melt away and be gone forever. So I try to keep a respectable distance from anything that may upset you."

Elsa watches as a tear falls down Anna's cheek. Her heart sinks and she immediately regrets her outburst at the younger girl. Anna is trying so hard to make her comfortable. Elsa inches forward on the couch. "Anna," she whispers, in an attempt to apologize. She can't manage to get the rest of the words out.

"My Mom," Anna continues, "My real Mom- she was like a snowflake... just like you." Another tear falls from her eyes. "My dad tried to hold her too tight... and then one day she melted away." Anna wipes her eyes. "I came here last night- and you had gone through half a bottle of vodka. I thought to myself... this is my fault. I did this to her. I tried to be... I want you to be happy, Elsa. I just don't know how. I _want_ to be here... and _you_ want me to be here. Can we at the very least... just... acknowledge that."

Elsa shakes her head. "Anna... I'm not going to... I won't melt away."

Anna sniffs and shakes her head. "I don't know if I believe you. Just... Can you try? Can you really try? If you don't want to talk to me, I can help you find the best professional. I'll pay for it and go to every session and sit in the waiting room for you... Some times I just feel like my Mom didn't try... if she tried she'd still be here. She wouldn't have left. You don't have to be like her." She looks to Elsa with hope in her eyes, but Elsa turns away. Anna presses her lips together as tears begin to pour from her eyes. She looks down to the floor.

Elsa tries to shut out the sounds of Anna's sobs. She knows that if she goes to Anna, she's taking a big step, and not just for their relationship- but for her life. There are some things she had never told anyone, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that.

She closes her eyes. _Anna's being so brave, and I'm sitting here being a fucking coward. _Elsa stands and moves to the younger girl, pulling her into a hug. "What happened last night was dumb... on my part. That wasn't your fault, and I wasn't trying to..." Elsa takes in a breath. None of what she was trying to say mattered. There was only one thing that Anna wanted to hear. "I'll try talking to a therapist... I would talk to you, but there are some things that I don't want to put on your shoulders." Elsa closes her eyes. _This is really happening._

Anna buries her face into the crook of Elsa's neck as she brings her arms around the older woman's shoulders. "Thank you," she whispers. "That means a lot."

Elsa leans down, putting her face into the younger girl's hair. _Yeah. It really does._


	20. First Session

Elsa wakes to find Anna coiled around her like ivy. She has her head on the older woman's chest, her arm around her waist, and her leg firmly wedged between her thighs.

It never mattered how they went to sleep, they always woke up in this position. Anna always managed to find a way to wrap herself around Elsa in the middle of the night. She slept over almost every night since her father didn't really have a problem with it- as long as Anna made it to school the next day.

Elsa tries to move from under Anna, the heat becoming unbearable, but the younger girl tightens her grip. Elsa smiles to herself. She then takes in a breath as she brings her hand up and gently strokes Anna's hair, her desire to move slowly fading. Anna stirs, her sleepy eyes looking up to meet Elsa's. She blinks a few times as she wakes up. "Hey," she murmurs, smiling.

"Hey," Elsa smiles back. She loved waking up to that smile.

Anna drops her head, nuzzling Elsa's breasts as an appreciative hum escapes her throat. Her hand travels from Elsa's waist, down her thigh. "Even when I'm just waking up…" She trails off. "That'll have to wait," she says, looking at the alarm clock. "You have an appointment to get to."

She stretches out, untangles herself from Elsa, and rises. Elsa lets out a small laugh as Anna gets off the bed. "Way to kill the mood."

Anna frowns as she looks to Elsa, concern etched on her face. "Do you not want to do this… I hate to feel like I'm forcing you to go."

Elsa lifts herself, reaching for Anna's hand and pulling her back onto the bed. "It's okay, Anna. I would do anything for you… and I actually want to do this. It could be good for me."

Anna leans over, placing a soft kiss on Elsa's lips. "Thanks. I'll make it worth the trouble," she says with a wink as she rises from the bed. Elsa slaps her behind as she walks away and both girls begin to laugh. Elsa watches as Anna enters the bathroom to start getting ready. _I could get used to this life. _The thought brings a smile to her face.

* * *

><p>Elsa walks into the psychiatrist's office and is greeted by a woman who is about her height, but noticeably older. She has an authoritative presence about her. It makes Elsa nervous. The woman extends a hand. "Hi, I'm Dr. Gothel." Her voice is low and smooth.<p>

Elsa tries to look into the older woman's gray eyes, but finds them somehow intimidating. She decides to focus on the three loose curls splayed across her forehead. The woman has thick black hair that flows over her shoulders. Elsa takes her hand. "I'm Elsa." Her voice comes out soft and timid.

"You can take a seat," Dr. Gothel says, motioning toward a pristine cream-colored modern sofa. "Or you can stand if you prefer that. Whatever you're comfortable with."

Elsa nods as she walks over to the sofa and takes a seat. The office has hardwood floors- not the fake snap-in kind that you find in a box a home depot- but the real deal. There's an expensive looking rug in the middle, with a table in the center of it. _How much is this session going to cost?_

"How are you feeling today, Elsa?" Dr. Gothel's voice pierces through Elsa's thoughts.

Elsa shrugs and looks around the room, a large bookshelf catching her attention. _I wonder what all those books are about. _She looks back to Dr. Gothel. "I'm feeling okay. I had a nice morning."

"What made it nice?"

Elsa looks down at her hands. She notices her shoe is on the flawless carpet and she quickly moves her foot to the hardwood. "I guess my girlfriend's smile always makes my mornings feel great," she says sheepishly.

Dr. Gothel writes something on a notepad before giving Elsa a small smile. "Have you ever sought out professional help before?" Elsa shakes her head. "What seems to be the problem… what made you come now?"

Elsa shrugs. "I guess I just need to open up more. I get overwhelmed pretty easily, and sometimes I have these panic attacks..."

Dr. Gothel nods and writes more things down on her notepad. Elsa wonders what it is exactly that she's writing. _She can probably already tell that I'm crazy. _Elsa swallows as Dr. Gothel looks back up. "Did you have a lot of friends growing up?"

"Not really." Elsa shakes her head. "I just had my best friend, Olaf. He's like a brother to me now."

"Do you find it hard to open up to him?"

Elsa clears her throat. "Yes." She pauses. "Well about certain stuff- yes… things that happened before I met him. He knows about everything that has happened since we met."

Dr. Gothel takes more notes. Elsa spots a coffee maker in the corner of the office, and wonders if she's allowed to ask for coffee. The doctor looks back up. "What happened before you met Olaf?"

"I don't want to talk about that."

"Okay," Dr. Gothel nods. "We don't have to talk about that. Tell me about your girlfriend."

Elsa takes in a breath. "She's great… and caring. She actually suggested that I come here."

"Is she the one waiting for you out there?"

Elsa's eyes widen as she looks up. "Huh?"

"Sorry," Dr. Gothel says softly. "You said she suggested you come here, and I saw you talking to her before you came in. I figure your girlfriend would be here for you if it was her suggestion."

Elsa's breathing starts to pick up slightly and she frantically looks around the room, trying to find an appropriate lie to get out of this situation. Dr. Gothel looks to her, concerned. "There's no need to be alarmed, Elsa. Everything we say in here is confidential. I'm here to help you."

Elsa nods her head, her fear somewhat subsiding. "Yeah. She's my girlfriend." The words feel good to say out loud. It feels nice to actually acknowledge their relationship. Elsa's body relaxes and she leans back on the sofa.

"What are some of your hobbies?"

Elsa is caught off guard by the change in subject. She had figured Dr. Gothel would want to dwell on her relationship. She leans forward again. "I don't really have many nowadays. I used to work in a research lab, and I played tennis."

Dr. Gothel nods, her facial expression giving nothing away about her thoughts. "Would you say your lack of hobbies is contributing to you being easily overwhelmed?"

Elsa shrugs again. "I don't know. I guess I never really thought about it."

Dr. Gothel writes something else on her pad before looking up again. "Okay. Well... today I want to get to know you, and let you ask me some questions to see if you're comfortable with me as your psychiatrist. We will go into deeper things in later sessions, should you choose to continue seeing me."

* * *

><p>Elsa exits the office and walks over to Anna, who is engrossed in a magazine. She lowers it once she notices the older woman standing in front of her. "How did it go?"<p>

Elsa shrugs. "It was just the first session so she just tried to get to know me a little, get a feel for my past. She just wanted to know about my schooling, my grades, friends, hobbies… you."

Anna lifts a brow. "Me?"

"Yeah." Elsa nods. "I told her that you're my girlfriend. She said it's confidential so-"

"I don't mind," Anna says, shaking her head. "I'm glad you're opening up. This is great."

Elsa lets out a small laugh. "Calm down. I'm not going to be the perfect girlfriend after one session. Don't get your hopes up."

Anna stands and shrugs. "I already thought you were the perfect girlfriend. This is just to help you. I can go in with you- if you want me to."

Elsa shakes her head. "Maybe at some point, but for now I think I should do this alone."

"Don't need me to come with you?"

"I think I can handle it. Lets get out of here. We can get ice cream." Elsa offers Anna a smile.

Anna pulls her into a hug. "You're being so great about this. I thought you would freak out and hate me for even suggesting it. I know a big part of you is only doing this for me… so thanks… again."


	21. The Detective

Anna bends over, clutching her knees as she gasps for air. A bead of sweat rolls down the side of her face and her shirt clings uncomfortably to her neck. She looks up to Elsa, flushed, and gives her a warm smile. "What... the hell… are you doing?"

Elsa flashes Anna a smile as she straightens herself. She wipes a drop of sweat from her forehead before twisting the lid off of her water bottle. "I was just stretching. You really should straighten your body- that position doesn't open up your lungs."

Elsa walks forward, placing her hand on Anna's shoulder and pressing upward. Anna reaches for the ground as she slowly collapses, her knees hitting the pavement first. She then turns and falls backwards, sprawling out on her back. "You're not my coach anymore, Elsa. I don't have to listen to that. Why do you have so much energy? We ran like seven thousand miles."

Elsa grabs her ankle, pulling one leg behind her, and balancing on the other. "We ran _maybe _four. I thought you'd be more in shape, Ms. I'm-the-Beyonce-of-tennis."

Anna closes her eyes, finally getting her breathing under control. "Whatever, Els. I don't know why we had to run anyway, this is like the worst date ever."

Elsa places her water bottle on the ground and walks over to where Anna is lying. She slowly squats down, putting her weight on her toes as she rests her arms on her thighs. "Get up Anna. People are staring at you." Elsa laughs as she jokingly shakes the younger girl.

"I am _not_ moving, Elsa. People can stare all they want. I'm cute- I don't mind." Anna's eyes remain shut as she speaks, a lazy smile slowly making its way across her face.

Elsa rolls her eyes as she plops down next to Anna on the ground. "I actually don't know why I'm in love with you," she groans as she wipes her eye with the back of her hand. "Your phone is ringing."

"What?"

Elsa taps the phone that is strapped to Anna's arm. "Your phone is ringing."

"Oh," Anna breathes out. She reaches for her headphones, plugging one into her ear and pressing the button on the cord. "You got Anna."

Elsa leans over the younger girl, moving wet strands of hair that are clinging to her cheek off of her face. Anna smiles up at her, but then the smile disappears. "What happened," she asks, her voice suddenly serious.

Elsa gives Anna a questioning look, asking if everything is okay. Anna shakes her head. "We'll be there," she says, before hanging up the phone. Anna sits up and looks at Elsa. "That was my stepmother, she says my dad is in the hospital.

"Is he okay?"

Anna shrugs. "She said he should be fine, but she won't tell me what happened until we get there."

Elsa grunts as she stands, and then offers Anna a hand. "Well, lets get you there."

* * *

><p>The hospital is chaotic- even more so than normal. There were security details, detectives, and Anna's yelling stepmother. She spots the two girls walking toward her, and immediately leaves her conversation to greet them. She approaches, only acknowledging Anna. "Your father is sleeping right now."<p>

Anna nods. "Okay, so what happened?"

The older woman cuts her eyes at Elsa, before looking back to Anna. "We really only want family around right now, Anna." She pauses. "Do I need to get someone to bring you a change of clothes? You don't smell very… _lady like._"

Anna rolls her eyes. "Well I've never been much of a lady by your standards, now have I? Elsa is staying."

The older woman runs a hand through her hair in frustration. "I said family only, Anna. I meant that. Tell your friend to leave."

Anna shakes her head. "Elsa's more family than you've _ever _been… and why are you acting like she's not fucking right-"

"Don't be so insolent, Anna! Just listen to me for once in your spoiled little life," the older woman snaps. "Everyone always just lets you get away with murder- well not today." She turns and stares Elsa in the eyes. "You need to leave. Now."

Elsa nods her head, before looking to Anna. She is vaguely aware that if she wasn't on medication right now, she'd probably be freaking out. She offers Anna a small smile. "I'll just leave, and you can call me later. I'd hate to be the cause of any tension." _I'd hate for this woman to go off on me. _

Anna looks at Elsa, knowingly. Elsa realizes that it is becoming harder for her to hide her real thoughts from Anna. The younger girl places a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be afraid of her, Elsa. You can stay," she says softly.

Elsa looks up at the stepmother, and the older woman stares back, her look softening. She looks to Anna. "Someone tried to… someone intentionally hurt your father, and until we have a better grip on who it was- we only want actual family around." She looks to Elsa. "I'm sure you had nothing to do with it, but try to understand."

Anna stares at her stepmother wide-eyed, her breathing increasing. "Someone… what?"

Anna's stepmother places a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "We're going to figure this out Anna. The only thing we're really certain of is that someone most likely tampered with his breaks. We're figuring it out, but Elsa has to leave."

Elsa feels like the heat is being sucked out of the room, and she can feel her heart pounding in her ears. She looks at the floor, as reality slowly begins to slip away. "Is Anna in danger?" The question comes out as a whisper. She isn't sure if she was asking herself or just putting it out there in general.

"We're not sure." Elsa hears the reply, but she isn't sure who said it. _Stepmother, Els. It was the stepmother. _Elsa looks up as she takes a step back. _No. _She takes in a breath. "No. No, no, no." She shakes her head, wanting to say more- but no apparently being the only word she knows.

Anna slowly takes a step toward her. "It's okay, Elsa," she says gently. "Everything is going to be okay."

Elsa takes another step back, realizing that everyone is shifting they're attention to her, when they should be focused on protecting Anna. _No. Stop. _She lifts her hand and notices how much she is shaking. _Shit. _She wants to leave or run or be invisible, but she's paralyzed- and everyone is staring at her… or at least it feels that way.

Anna walks to her, softly rubbing her arm. "Remember what Dr. Gothel said, Els. Deep breathing."

Elsa manages to shake her head. "I can't… no… n-" Her voice leaves her and she closes her eyes. She feels Anna pull her into a hug.

Anna leans her head against Elsa's chest. "You can, Els. You ran a billion miles today like it was nothing. I know you can take a deep breath."

"Four."

Anna tilts her head up. "What?"

Elsa opens her eyes and looks down. "Four. We ran four miles."

"You've got to be kidding me," Anna exclaims, shock registering on her face. "We ran _at least _a marathon." Elsa shakes her head and Anna smiles. "Guess I'm just not that in shape, huh? We should run together more often. Don't you think so?"

Elsa's breathing starts to come a little easier and she nods her head. "Yeah, I think that would be nice. I like to run."

Anna brings her hand to Elsa's face, moving hair away from the older woman's forehead. "What else do you like that we can do together?"

Elsa searches through her mind for things she'd like to do with Anna. She can't find anything, so she decides to stick with the topic of working out. "I've always wanted to try a Zumba class."

Anna nods. "I totally wouldn't mind watching you dance around in some tight-fitting yoga pants." She lifts a brow at Elsa with a slight smile.

The statement actually gets Elsa to laugh, slightly. She leans her forehead against Anna's. "Your stepmother probably thinks we're together," she whispers with a smile, trying to keep the mood light.

Anna shrugs. "Well no one actually cares about what she thinks."

Elsa lifts her head, taking a step away from Anna. She figures she would feel more comfortable if she wasn't pulling in unwanted attention, and she had the odd feeling that Anna was about to kiss her in front of all of these people. "Still." She pauses, taking in a breath. "Did your father ever mention anyone wanting to hurt him?" She tries to switch the subject.

"We don't have to talk about this, Elsa."

Elsa takes in another breath, trying to keep her breathing slow. "We actually _need _to talk about this, Anna." She tries to gain control of her muscles, slowly tensing and relaxing them until she feels the last of her shaking exit her body.

Anna looks around the room, running a hand through her hair. "Well, to be honest- no… and I don't think that's really something he'd just mention in passing, you know?"

Elsa nods understandingly. "Well, how are you feeling? Where's your head at right now?"

"I'm not sure." Anna looks away as she gently bites down on her lip. She then returns her stare to Elsa. "This is weird. I mean I'm sure he's made some enemies- he's successful. He's a businessman. I just... I don't know who would go after him, and to be completely honest... I guess I'm a little afraid."

Elsa looks to Anna with strength she didn't know she had. "It's gonna be okay, I'm sure... and we shouldn't stand in the way of this investigation. If me not being around for a little while helps, then-" Elsa trails off.

Anna looks away from the older woman, sadness in her eyes. "But what about me," she starts, quietly, "- I need you... especially if this is serious." She looks back to Elsa.

Anna's stepmother walks over to the two of them, placing a hand on Anna's shoulder. "He's awake now. You can go see him if you want to... but Elsa really needs to leave."

Anna tries to protest but Elsa gives her a firm stare. "Go, Anna. It's going to be okay. Just call me later." Anna pulls Elsa into a tight hug. It lasts a few seconds and then she pulls away from it and walks toward her father's room. Her stepmother follows.

Elsa turns to leave, but is stopped by a man wearing a suit. He is tall with a muscular build and he has thick brown hair with very thick sideburns. She notices he has a very strong chin and his cheeks are slightly red.

"We are looking into anything Mr. Perelman has done recently that might have upset anyone," the man says nonchalantly, as if Elsa had prompted him with a question.

Elsa nods. "Does it seem like that list will be long?"

He shrugs slightly, shaking his head. "It's hard to tell right now. " He clears his throat. "I didn't want to ask you to do this in front of Anna, but it would help if you talked to us."

Elsa shakes her head. "I really have no reason to hurt Anna's father."

"I wasn't trying to imply that, but let us decide that for ourselves... and we can worry about one less person."

Elsa sighs. "I can't do this right now. I'm really tired. I need to get some rest." She turns and starts to walk away.

The detective continues to speak. "You should really consider talking to us. I mean with your family's history- it would be pretty easy to put _you_ on that list."

Elsa turns around and walks back toward the man. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do," he says, flatly. "Tell me about your father."

"He lives in-"

He holds up a finger. "Your real father, not the man who adopted you."

Elsa tries to control her breathing, but it isn't panic that's rising inside of her- it's anger. "He died," she says through clenched teeth.

The detective's lips curve down into a slight frown. He leans toward Elsa. "He died... _or_ he's rotting in a Norwegian prison. You know, it's all the same thing." He pulls away from Elsa. "Mr. Perelman received the first threat about a week ago. That's how long I've been looking into this."

"And _I'm _at the top of your list. You must be a really shitty detective." Elsa can't hide her anger, and at this point she doesn't want to. _Asshole. _

"Let me lay this out for you," he says, his voice suddenly viciously quiet. "A couple of weeks ago a website was shut down for many reasons, but lets cut the shit- it was because of that post about you and Anna."

"Okay. I don't understa-"

"Don't interrupt," he cuts in. "Shortly after that Mr. Perelman started receiving death threats. Automatically there are two people on my list. You and Duke Weselton. You, because you finally realized how far Mr. Perelman is willing to go to say his daughter isn't a lesbian... and Els-" He shakes his head, laughing. "-you got it _bad._"

Elsa freezes. _He actually thinks this might be me. _She shakes her head. "I didn't... I wouldn't.. I'm not..."

The detective starts to chuckle. "Here's the funny part, _Elsa_. Duke has an alibi for this morning. He's not in the state. Few people knew for sure Mr. Perelman was going into work today, and I'm guessing Anna was one of them. If she knew, then you probably knew. That gave you enough time to tamper with his breaks in the morning, and hang out with Anna in the afternoon."

"You can't do this. You can't just spin lies like this. You have no basis whatsoever." Elsa tugs at the hem of her shirt nervously. She had no way to prove that what he was saying wasn't true. She had known Anna's father went into work today and there wasn't anyone to attest to her whereabouts this morning.

"You want to know why I brought your father up," the detective starts. "It's called profiling. Now someone who went through what you did... saw what you saw... they might have a real messed up sense of morality. They might think- 'hey, he's standing in my way, so I need to take him out'... but what do I know?" He hands Elsa his card. "The list really isn't that long. Call me _when _you want to talk."

Elsa watches him walk away and she turns, slowly heading toward the exit of the building. _This is insane. He's just trying to scare me. He would have arrested me if he was sure._ Elsa keeps walking, feeling her legs become heavier with each step.

Eventually she can't go much farther, so she stops and leans against a wall- sinking to the floor. _I really can't get a break. _She closes her eyes, thankful of the fact that she isn't having a panic attack.

She never thought that what happened in her past would come back like _this. _Sure it had affected her, she could barely go a week without having a panic attack- but she had never wanted to hurt anyone. _What kind of detective was he? Is he threatening me? _Elsa puts her head down on her knees and sighs. _I hate this._


	22. Oaken

Elsa twirls the hem of her shirt between her fingers as she patiently sits in the uncomfortable plastic chair at the police station. She was still considering whether or not to call the detective, when she had received a call instead. They said they needed her down at the station for something pressing. She was trying to not let her nerves get the best of her, but she was failing miserably.

Part of Elsa wanted to run- to where, she didn't know. Regardless of where she went, she knew she wouldn't be able to hide from the cops, so she had begrudgingly hauled herself from her apartment down to the police station, where she now tried to distract herself by watching the twitching guy handcuffed to bench opposite her. Dr. Gothel had talked to her about confronting certain issues head on, so here she was, taking the initiative.

She glances up as a tall juggernaut of a fellow approaches her. "Ms. Askeland?" Elsa nods her head at the intimidating figure, slightly regretting her decision to come here alone. He gives her a warm smile, seemingly unfitting of his size. "Well, I'm Detective Oaken. Right this way ma'am." He gestures to his right and Elsa slowly stands from her chair, following him into a small interrogation room.

She takes a tentative look at the large table sitting in the center of the room before looking back to Oaken. He gives her a reassuring nod. "Sorry, about this. You're not in trouble with the law Ms. Askeland, we just don't have any other available private spaces."

Elsa lets out the biggest sigh of relief she has ever managed, or ever seen _anyone else_ manage for that matter. She then makes her way to one of the chairs, pausing before she takes her seat. "If I'm not in trouble, then why was it so pressing that I get down here?"

Detective Oaken clears his throat as he shuts the door behind him. He walks to the table, placing a manilla folder down, before taking his seat. Elsa does the same. He waits for her to get settled before speaking. "Are you familiar with what happened to Mr. Perelman?"

Elsa swallows and she feels her face begin to heat up. _He said you weren't in trouble. Calm down. _Elsa nods her head. "Yes sir," she manages to whisper out.

Detective Oaken nods and looks down at his hands briefly before raising his eyes to Elsa once again. "Well we talked to Duke Weselton, and he was actually able to provide us with a lead. He said he had two employees who worked for him that were _pretty _upset with what had went down with the website."

Elsa nods her head, taking the information in. She still can't figure out why they would want her here. "Is something wrong with Anna?" The words leave her mouth before she can even think them.

The detective shakes his head. "Anna Perelman is fine. This is about you, Elsa. Police went to check on the two men- they shared an apartment. When they got there they found pictures of you plastered all over the walls, some of them with darts thrown in them, others torn or with red X's. They were able to detain one of the men, who surprisingly gave a full confession. The only problem is that we can't find the other one."

Elsa nods her head, suddenly afraid. "I don't- I… What do you need me to do?" _Why would they have my picture? _Elsa gets this odd sense of things happening around her that she has no clue of. She wonders how often she may have been in danger and just not known it.

Detective Oaken opens the folder on the table and takes out a photo. "I was just wondering if you had ever seen this man." He slides the photo in front of Elsa, and she stops breathing.

The man she was looking down at was the one she had seen a few days ago in the hospital. The one that claimed to be a detective. She doesn't say anything. She just stares wide-eyed at the photo.

"The guy we detained said this man became pretty obsessed with you. They worked together to orchestrate the plan to take down Mr. Perelman, but he said Alexander, this man's name, had other plans." Oaken pauses for a moment and sticks a hand out toward Elsa. "Are you okay, Ms. Askeland?"

Elsa begins to shake her head. "No. No, no, no. I saw this man…" Her chest starts to heave as her breathing picks up. "He talked… he talked to me in the hospital."

"Breathe Ms. Askeland. This is good information. The hospital probably has him on camera. You're going to be okay."

Elsa looks to Oaken, fear pooling in her eyes. "How do you know that? He was there! He knows everything about my life! What if he hurts Anna?" A tear falls down Elsa's cheek as she sinks in her chair. "I can't protect her. I don't know how." The last two sentences are spoken more to herself, than to the detective.

Detective Oaken reaches forward and places his hand on top of hers. "We won't let him hurt either one of you, but we need you to be careful for the next few days. If he is here, you have to be vigilant." He pauses. "If it helps… he only seems to be interested in you… not Anna."

Elsa wipes a tear from her cheek, pulling her hand from underneath Detective Oaken's. She stands from her chair. "I need to go home. I have to go."

Oaken takes in a breath. "I just want to ask you a few more questions, Elsa. This won't take too long, I promise." Elsa nods her head, sitting back down, and Oaken continues. "I really need to ask this, and I don't want you to take this the wrong way- but what, exactly, is your relationship with Anna Perelman?"

"We're dating." Elsa says it without hesitation. She no longer cares who knows about their relationship, as long as Anna is out of harm's way.

Oaken nods, his facial expression giving nothing away about his thoughts. "Why didn't you try to stop Mr. Perelman from taking the website down?"

Elsa shrugs. "I don't know," she starts softly. "I guess I was afraid. I thought if he knew that... maybe he'd ruin my life instead. I never thought it would lead to this. I was careless. This is all my fault."

Elsa looks down at the table as another tear falls down her cheek. Oaken shifts in his seat, the chair obviously too small for the large man. "None of this is your fault, Elsa. We will find him. I just need your cooperation. If anything come up- if you see him, or hear from him- you need to tell me _immediately._"

Elsa nods. "Okay." She had stopped paying attention at this point. She just wanted to get out of the room. She wanted to call Anna or go to Anna and make sure that the younger girl was okay. Elsa hated herself for dragging Anna into this. No matter what Oaken said, she knew this was her fault.

Detective Oaken stands, letting out a resigned breath. "I can walk you out. You should try not to be alone, Elsa."

Elsa stands and follows Oaken out of the room. "I'll just have my friend, Olaf, stay over with me. I just need to make sure Anna is okay." She had never been more thankful for having Olaf around.

Detective Oaken walks Elsa to the exit and she leaves the building, rushing to her car, but she feels her phone start to ring. She stops in the middle of the parking lot, taking the phone from her pocket. The caller ID says unknown, but Elsa knows exactly who it is. She picks up. "What do you want from me?"

A soft deep chuckle comes from the other end of the phone, and then silence. Elsa feels her breathing pick up. "I would like my life back," the voice on the other end begins, "- you know, the one you took away from me." He takes in a slow methodical breath. "But I don't think you have the power to do that, so I can settle for something else. I just want to teach you a lesson, _Elsa._" He drags out her name, hissing the 's' like a snake. "Whenever you're faced with a tough decision, you seem to _always_ make the wrong choice."

The call ends. Elsa looks down at her phone, unsure of what just happened. She doesn't know whether to keep heading to her car, or return to the police station. The only thing that was keeping her from breaking down was the thought of getting to Anna. More than anything right now, Elsa needed to see the younger girl with her own eyes. She needed to make sure she was safe. She puts her phone away and continues to walk toward her car, deciding Anna is more important.


	23. I Break Things

Elsa's old room was exactly the same as it had been the day she left for college. Her adoptive parents hadn't bothered to change it. They knew Elsa didn't like change, like they also knew she would probably come back.

It had been four years since Elsa saw her adoptive parents, and two years since she had spoken to them- but Gerda wasn't the least bit surprised when the platinum blonde showed up unannounced on their doorstep.

Everything in Elsa's life was falling apart and it was all her fault.

She shifts on her old mattress, pulling a pillow in tighter to her chest as she ruffles the sheets of the perfectly made bed. _This is it_, she thinks. _This is what my life has come to. Lying helpless in my old bed. _

It was true- or it at least seemed that way. She couldn't figure out what sequence of events would get her out of this without anyone getting hurt.

A knock at the door lifts her from her thoughts and she lifts her head to see Gerda. Her adoptive mother had always been very gentle with her, loving and caring. She treated Elsa as if the blonde was her own flesh and blood, but Elsa had been too far removed as a child to know how to return the love.

Now here she was back at home after not speaking to the woman for two years, attempting to act as if everything was okay. Nothing had changed.

Elsa puts her face back down on the bed, shoving her nose into the pillow. Gerda enters the room and walks to where Elsa is lying, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "You're going to get through this, Els. You're a tough cookie."

"I'm not a tough cookie," Elsa snaps, lifting her head from the pillow. "It took me eleven years to go to therapy, but it's too late. I'm broken. I know I'm broken. No one can fix me."

She pauses as she pulls herself up into a sitting position, a tear falling down her cheek. "Now this situation is happening, and it's my fault. I don't know how to fix this, Gerda. I only know how to break things. I can't put them back together."

Gerda gently shakes her head as she places a hand on Elsa's knee. "This isn't your fault, Elsa. Sometimes things happen and we can't control them."

Elsa sniffs as she tries to wipe away her tears with the sleeve of her sweater. "This is my fault. I had a plan. If I had just followed the plan, everything would have worked out. The plan didn't include a bad relationship with Melissa, causing my grades to slip. It didn't include me having to do something extra after college just to have a chance to get into med school. It didn't include Anna."

Her voice cracks at the sound of the younger girl's name coming from her mouth. She leans forward, putting her face into her hands as her sobs become harder to control.

Gerda slides more onto the bed and places a hand on Elsa's back, trying to soothe the crying woman. "Is Anna the girl you saved?"

Elsa lifts her head and attempts to speak, but she can't find any words. She nods instead.

Gerda gives her an understanding smile as she continues to run her hand along the blonde's back. "Well if you're in love with Anna… I think there will always be room in your plans for her. Sometimes we take detours and those detours can make our path a little harder… but we figure out a way to keep moving on."

Elsa shakes her head. "I don't want her to get hurt. There are police watching this house. They're watching Olaf. Anna's family needs more personal security than they already had. This is all my fault. I put everyone I care about in danger. There's never room in the plan for that."

"Well it happened, Elsa. Now you just need to do everything you can to fix this. I know you think you can't… but you're just going to have to buckle down and try. I know you can do this."

"I just…" Elsa stops, wiping the last bit of tears from her cheek. She wants to continue arguing with Gerda, but she knows it's frivolous. The older woman was right, but Elsa wasn't so sure that she was capable of doing much in this situation.

She takes in a deep breath in a desperate attempt to rebuild her composure. "I always knew my past would come back to haunt me. I tried so hard to distance myself from everyone…" Elsa trails off and gently presses her eyes closed. "I'll do what I can. I promise." She opens her eyes and gives Gerda a weak smile, hoping to reassure what she just stated.

Gerda returns the gesture as she lifts herself from the bed. "I don't know when you last had something to eat, but dinner is ready and Kai came home not too long ago. He's dying to see you, but I told him to wait until you were ready."

Elsa nods as she lifts herself from the mattress, joining Gerda to leave the bedroom.

The dining room was also exactly the same as Elsa remembered it. It was like the house had been trapped in a time capsule, refusing to move forward in time. She takes her old place at the table, in between Kai and Gerda, who are at either end.

Kai gives her a smile as she lifts her fork, slightly eager to eat Gerda's mashed potatoes. "So what's new, Els," he starts, his voice a little too excited for Elsa to handle.

The blonde decides to just shrug off his question, hoping he won't inquire any farther. He opens his mouth to speak again, but thankfully Gerda chimes in first. "Elsa is in love. She has a girlfriend. Her name is Anna. It's the one she saved a little while back, you know?"

Kai lets out a small laugh as he turns to Elsa. "When were you planning on letting us meet this Anna? I bet she's just lovely. How is she?"

Elsa shrugs again, keeping her eyes on her food. When the table remains silent she realizes she is expected to speak. She clears her throat as she slowly looks up from her plate at Kai and Gerda's expectant faces.

"The last time I talked to her was almost a week ago. I told her she might be in danger because of me, and that she should keep her distance. She cried. I hung up." Elsa looks back at her plate and pokes around the mashed-potatoes, no longer hungry.

After a short interlude of silence, Kai speaks up again. "I'm sure things will work out for the best. You still have your sights on med schoo-?"

"Kai," Gerda interrupts, placing her fork down on a napkin next to her plate. "Lets not bombard her with questions as soon as she comes back into the house. If she wants to talk about these things, she'll bring them up."

Kai rolls his eyes as he sloppily places his own fork down on the table. "Excuse me, Gerda. I'm just trying to have a conversation with the girl. We haven't seen her in four years."

Gerda smooths out the napkin lying across her lap in exasperation. "This is probably why she hasn't spoken to us." Her voice is calm, yet it slices through the air like a sharpened knife.

Elsa lifts her head and attempts to stifle the argument. "I'm sorry I didn't call or visit," she starts, "I just… I don't know why I didn't." She pauses, realizing that excuse wouldn't do much to help anything. "I guess… I guess I felt like I didn't deserve you two. You have been so great-"

"Nonsense," Kai blurts out. "You deserve everything in the world, Els. The police are going to find this coward, and they're going to make sure he goes away for a long time- don't you worry."

Gerda rolls her eyes at the large male. "Would just let her speak, Kai. Don't interrupt her."

"This is what I do," Elsa shouts. She slams her fork down on the table and pushes her chair away before standing. "I break things. You two are fighting because of me."

She runs a hand through her hair as tears begin to fall once again. "I need some alone time. I'm gonna go to my room, and if it's okay… I'd like it if no one followed me."

Elsa turns and walks away from the table before anyone has the chance to speak up. She didn't have time for an argument. She needed to figure out what needed to be done.

When she enters her room she collapses onto her bed and stares blankly at the wall. The blue walls with the snowflake patterns that used to cheer her up as a child seem to have lost their magic… or maybe she had just lost all hope.

Elsa grabs her cellphone from the night stand and turns it on. She didn't want to talk to anyone, but she couldn't fight the need to check if anyone had tried to contact her.

She had no missed calls or text messages.

She slams her phone down on the bed in defeat, just as it starts to buzz. Her heart flutters at the thought that maybe Anna was trying to reach out to her, but when she turns it over the caller ID says unknown.

Her mind tells her to call the police. They had been upset with her when she had waited to tell them about the first call. _Just call them. _In her head she knows what she needs to do, but for some reason her hands are defying all logic. She answers the call.

"Hello, Elsa. Enjoying your stay with your parents?" Her stalker's voice is eerily calm and confident. Goosebumps begin to cover her skin at just the sound of him.

She takes in a breath and tries to remain as calm as possible. "We've had better times, but I guess it's nice to see them."

"Why were you away for so long, Elsa? It seems to me like you don't appreciate what you have."

"Trust me," she says, shaking her head, "I'm starting to."

A soft chuckle comes from the other end of the phone and Elsa's heart starts to beat a little faster. "I guess you have me to thank for that. I'm not all bad. I'm even going to offer you a way out."

"What do you want from me?" She knows this is bad territory. She knows she should just end the call, but his offer seemed more than a little enticing.

"I want you, Elsa. I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself- undo all those bad decisions that put your loved ones in danger. If I have you, they're safe."

At this point her heart is hammering against her chest. If he was telling the truth… this could be how she fixed everything. This was the one thing she could do to ensure the safety of everyone she cared about. "What are you going to do to me? Why do you want me?"

The man on the other end lets out another laugh before speaking. "Elsa, Elsa, Elsa," he mutters, his tone chastising. "We're just going to have a little fun. I want to see why everyone thinks you're so special. What do you have, that I don't? I'll text you a location. Be there at seven, or someone will get hurt. Hope to see you soon."


	24. Alexander

"I'm not going to play your game."

Elsa concentrates all of her energy on controlling her breathing. She doesn't want him to know she's afraid. She doesn't want him to get the best of her. She needs to stay as calm as possible.

"What," the voice on the other end of the phone snaps back, a cool hostility masked in his otherwise impassive tone.

"I said," Elsa starts, making sure her voice is steady, "I'm not going to play your game."

"And why is that, Elsa?" His voice is condescending, patronizing- nothing about it attempting to hide exactly how smug he is about this situation.

"I did some thinking." _Even breaths, Elsa. In and out. _She knows that if she sounds weak at any point in time that he will take advantage of it. "I did some thinking-"

"Wait, wait, wait," He interrupts. There is a long silence before he continues to speak. "We all know what happens when you _think, _Elsa. I don't consider you the brightest-"

"Maybe not," Elsa snaps, attempting to stay in control. "But I _do _know something for sure, whether I'm the brightest anything, or not."

"And what is that," he asks, calmly.

"I know that it doesn't matter how many people you hurt- you'll never get Anna. You can never hurt the person I care about the most, because you can't even get close to her. No one else matters. I'm not going to play your game."

The other end of the phone is silent again, but Elsa doesn't add anything to what she said. She patiently waits for his response. She knows this is his way of getting into her head.

Finally, after a little more than three minutes, he speaks again. "How do you know that I don't have Anna?"

"I just know." This, she is actually sure about. Any other day that question might have worried her, but today it doesn't.

He clears his throat and Elsa can hear him shifting around. "Okay," he starts, his voice losing a bit of its smugness. "So, I'm guessing you're just going to let innocent people get hurt?"

Elsa takes in a deep breath and releases it. "I'm not letting anyone get hurt. This isn't my fault. You hurting someone will always be _your _fault. You can't blame me for _your _problems."

"Listen here, Elsa," he breathes out, his voice still soft, although he now sounds undeniably angry. "You will meet me at the fishing warehouse- you know the one. You come in, and I let this person here with me, out. Trust me, they'll be grateful. Anyone else walks through that door and well- they won't be so grateful. Goodbye."

The phone hangs up and a gasp escapes Elsa's throat as she wraps her shaking arms around her body. She did what she had to do. She did what she was _told _she had to do, but somehow it doesn't sit right with her.

She looks up at the four FBI agents surrounding the table as she stands. "I don't want… I can't do this. I don't underst-"

"You did great. You did really great," Oaken says, making his way to her side. He puts an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into a firm hug. "We're going to get this guy, don't worry."

Elsa presses her face into his soft shirt as she tries to fight the urge to start crying. "Someone is going to get hurt, and it's going to be _my _fault."

Oaken shakes his head as he runs a gentle hand over her back. "We're going to do our best to stop him from hurting anyone, but no matter what happens- this is not your fault."

"Do I have to go to the warehouse?" Elsa asks the questions expecting Oaken to say yes, but praying that he says no.

"No, absolutely not. We don't need to be putting anyone else's life in danger. You stay here with your parents, and we'll get this sorted out. We're going to leave a unit outside, just in case." He places a hand on Elsa's shoulder, gently tilting her back. "Everything will be okay."

Elsa shakes her head as she stares wide-eyed at Oaken. "You can't say that. You're not allowed to say that. What if everything isn't okay? What if Anna gets hurt?"

Detective Oaken gives Elsa a warm smile before pulling her back into a hug. "Trust me, the last person you have to worry about is Ms. Perelman. A group of Navy Seals wouldn't even be able to get to her at this point. We're going to end this. Tonight. I have to go."

Oaken pulls out of the hug and takes a step back. Elsa re-closes the gap between them. "I should go with you. He said if anyone other than me came in, that the person would get hurt. I have to go," she pleads, still fighting back tears.

Oaken grips both of her shoulders firmly. "He thinks he knows you. He thinks you will show up. Keeping you here is the safest thing we can do. It's the only thing that _might _catch him off guard. You _not _showing up is our best bet."

"Maybe for me, but what about the person that he plans on hurting?"

Oaken closes his eyes briefly before reopening them. "We aren't in the business of trading one life for another."

"But if a life gets taken tonight, it should be mine. Not-"

"No one's life _should _be taken tonight," he says, firmly. "What we are _positive _that we can do, is keep you safe. Let us worry about this other person._"_

"He probably knows I called you."

Oaken lets out a deep sigh as he tries to calm Elsa for maybe the thousandth time this night. "We went through your house. There are no cameras, no bugs, no _anything. _He doesn't know what's happening in here right now. We will handle this."

* * *

><p>The agents and detectives all eventually leave to -as Oaken so eloquently put it- <em>handle this. <em>Elsa doesn't want to know what that means. She doesn't want to think about it. Kai and Gerda tried their best to comfort her, but there isn't much that they can do in this moment.

Elsa heads to her room, opting for solitude instead, hoping that maybe she can sleep through the whole thing, and in the morning everything will be over. How she was going to manage sleep at a time like this, she wasn't sure, but she figures she'll just focus on one problem at a time.

She enters her room and her heart sinks a little when the snowflake patterns on the walls fail, once again, to cheer her up. She decides not to dwell on it as she collapses on her bed, shoving her face into her pillow.

As she expected, sleep doesn't really come easy.

She needs something to make her feel at ease since the snowflakes weren't quite doing it. _Anna did once call me a snowflake. _The thought brings a smile to her face, giving her a new reason to enjoy the ornament of her walls- they remind her of her favorite person.

Elsa lifts her head to take in the snowflakes, but they aren't the first thing she sees.

Her eyes land first on Alexander. Her stalker. In her room -or rather standing in the doorway of the connected bathroom- but in a confined space with her none-the-less.

Then her eyes land on the snowflakes. They somehow don't have the soothing effect she thought they would, so she let's her eyes travel back to her intruder.

Seeing him is like waking up from a bad dream to the safety of her bed, only to roll over and realize that she hasn't actually woken up. The nightmare is still going on.

"Hello, Elsa." His voice cuts through the air and sticks to Elsa in all the wrong ways. She tries to shake off the feeling that it's drawing out of her, but there is no real way to fight back the notion that she's about to die.

She opens her mouth to speak, but no sound comes out. This makes him laugh.

"Don't scream, by the way," he states, amused. He pulls a hand from behind his back to reveal a gun. "Scream and I'll shoot- and all that jazz," he says, waving it through the air as he rolls his eyes.

"How did you get in here," she manages to get out, not sure how she is still able to maintain control of her vocal chords.

Alexander smiles to himself, pleased with whatever antics he has used. "I've always been here," he states plainly. "Well, not in your room, per se, but in your house. I just-"

He takes in a deep breath and releases a sigh, before placing his free hand over his mouth as if he's about to burst into tears. "This is just working out _so _much better than I thought it would."

Elsa opens her mouth to speak again, but he holds up a hand. "Shh, shush. Don't speak. Get up," he says, his tone suddenly chilling.

Elsa does as commanded and he walks toward her, taking her by the arm and leading her into the bathroom. He stands her in front of the mirror. "I just wanted you to get a good look at yourself, and see how pathetic you look. You really should get some rest."

"What do you want from me," Elsa whispers, making eye contact with him through the glass.

His head recoils in mock shock, or maybe real shock- either way he looks offended. "What do I…" He clears his throat and releases Elsa's arm taking a step away from her toward the bathroom door, blocking her only exit.

He looks away and spins around in a circle. When his eyes meet Elsa's again they're filled with rage. "Your entire life you've been this little, timid, irrelevant piece of shit. Then you meet Anna and all of a sudden you're brave and you're outgoing and…" He lets out a deep inhuman growl. "No."

"Why does that upset you?" Elsa's voice is firm and even. She normally would be having a panic attack, but there's something about being certain about her death that is oddly calming.

Alexander looks to her, genuinely baffled by her question. "You took… you took everything from me. This isn't how it's… this isn't how this goes. You can't pretend _that_ didn't happen."

He leans his head against the door frame, bringing the hand with the gun in it close to his ear. When he starts to speak again Elsa isn't sure if he is talking to her or to himself. "I needed to remind you of who you are. You aren't brave. You aren't special." He turns toward her, his eyes glowering. "You don't get to be a hero, Elsa. You are not a hero."

His breathing picks up, his chest heaving with anger. "I needed to remind you of the piece of shit that you are… and once you remembered... once you remembered, then I could finally kill you. So, tell me Elsa. Do you remember? Do you fucking remember who I am, Elsa?"

Elsa doesn't. No matter how hard she tries to figure out who he is- she comes up blank. She shakes her head, no.

"I'll give you a hint," he whispers. "We met a little time after your father was put away, but before you got a new family."

She swallows. "You're from the orphanage. In Norway."

A smile spreads across his lips and it leaves Elsa with an unpleasant feeling. He takes a step toward her. "Yes, Elsa. You took _my_ life. I was supposed to get adopted."

"I can't control who gets adopted and who doesn't."

Alexander ferociously swings the handle of the gun toward Elsa's face and she goes down, hitting her head against the sink in the process. Pain explodes through her skull as tears start too swell in her eyes and her vision blurs.

"I was there because I lost my Mother, and you were there because your father is a murderer! I should have been the one to get adopted, not you! I deserved the new family! I would have appreciated them more than you did!"

At this point Alexander is screaming. He has no regard for who can hear him in the house. Elsa knows the end must be near.

He delivers a kick to her ribs and her breath is snatched from her lungs by the blow. She pulls her legs to her chest and uses her remaining strength to roll over, her back now facing him.

She doesn't want to have to see him when it happens.

She hears the gun click. She knows that Alexander is saying something, but she can no longer make out his words. The world starts to fade away. She hears a gunshot, and then there's darkness.

* * *

><p>When Elsa died she didn't see a white light. There was no tunnel with a heavenly angel waiting at the end to greet her, and lead her into the gates of Paradise. There was just darkness.<p>

Well, darkness and the incongruous annoyance of a bladder that was being stretched to its limits.

She really needed to pee.

She really _needs _to pee. It's actually a very pressing issue.

Elsa opens her eyes to what can only be the smell of a hospital room. The sunlight coming from a window off to her side is somewhat blinding, so she tries to turn away from it.

She is pleasantly surprised when her head responds to the command. The good feeling goes away once she becomes aware of the pain shooting through her chest, and the fact that her bladder is about to burst.

Elsa tests her limbs, attempting to wiggle various parts of her body. She manages to get her right arm to move- the one with the IV connected to it.

She turns her head toward the sunny side of the room, to test the left arm- and that's when she sees Anna, sleeping. The younger girl's head is resting on her folded arms, leaning on the bed next to Elsa.

She has her hair braided in pigtails and she's wearing the same button down plaid shirt from the time she and Elsa first kissed in the mall… and the time they first had sex.

Elsa smiles at the thought as she lifts her hand and slowly runs it over one of Anna's soft strawberry-blonde braids.

Anna snaps awake, lifting her head so quickly that Elsa's hand falls weakly back to the bed. "Hey," Elsa smiles, her voice hoarse.

"Elsa," Anna sighs, her voice pained and relieved.

"I really have to use the restroom," Elsa whispers.

Anna furrows her brow, confused, before relaxing her face into a smile. "Okay," she laughs, "I'll just call the nurse." She reaches and presses a button on the side of the bed.

Elsa attempts to clear her throat, realizing it's very dry. "Are you the only one here?"

Anna shakes her head. "Everyone is here, but I told them they couldn't come in because they're all dumb."

Elsa lifts a brow at the younger girl. "What?"

"Yeah," Anna nods, "-my dad, Oaken, your parents- all of them let this happen to you… and your parents keep talking to me like we're getting married _tomorrow_, and I'm like if Elsa freaking _dies _there will be no... _anything_. It's sort of weird, like they are not what I imagin-"

"I'm adopted," Elsa interrupts. "I think I should start being more open with you."

Anna smiles as a nurse enters into the room, walking up to the side of Elsa's bed. "Good to have you back, Ms. Askeland. I'll notify the doctor that you're awake. My name is Carol, do you know where you are?"

Elsa nods. "Yeah, I'm in the hospital. I really have to use the restroom."

Carol smiles down at her, understandingly. "I'll have to remove the catheter." She looks up to Anna. "Would you mind giving us a little privacy?"

Anna looks from the nurse, to Elsa, then back to the nurse again. "No, I'm fine. I think I'll stay."

"Anna," Elsa groans, "-just go so I can go to the bathroom."

Anna rolls her eyes and takes in a breath. "Fine, I'll be back in five minutes."

Five minutes later Anna comes strolling back in, just as Elsa manages to get seated on the toilet. She walks right past the complaining nurse and into the bathroom. "How does she expect you to sit up on your own? What if you fall? You know you hurt your head again, right?"

Elsa releases a deep sigh as she closes her eyes. She thinks to tell Anna to leave so she can use the bathroom, but she decides it's fruitless and just goes anyway. When she finishes up, Anna and the nurse help her back to the bed.

Anna takes off her shoes and carefully climbs in the bed next to Elsa. "Sorry if I smell bad," Anna starts, "-I just haven't left this room for the twenty eight hours I've been here. I just want to be close to you."

"Twenty... what," Elsa blurts out, her eyes wide.

"You were out for a while, Els," Anna says softly. "When they called... I thought that maybe... I thought maybe you had died," she finishes, quietly.

Elsa takes in a breath as she leans her body into the younger girl. "Honestly, I thought I died too. I was pretty sure I got shot. I thought I heard a gunshot."

"You probably did. I mean, Oaken _did _shoot Alexander."

Elsa takes in a sharp breath, realizing just how close her life had come to ending. "Lets not talk about this just yet, Anna. I kind of just want to enjoy your presence for a little while. I really missed you."


	25. Mr Perelman

"Elsa, no more kisses. I mean it."

"Why not?" comes Elsa's muffled voice, her lips pressed against Anna's neck.

Anna rolls over in the bed, now face-to-face with Elsa. "Because I know what you want, you pervert… and first of all, we're in a hospital, and second- you're hurt, Elsa. You're freaking hurt."

Elsa takes in a deep breath. "Come on, they got me on this pain medicine drip thingy." She sighs. "I haven't seen you in a week."

"So, basically you're saying you're high. Okay…"

"Okay," Elsa exclaims. "It's been a _long _week."

Anna lifts a hand and moves a piece of hair off of Elsa's cheek. "In ten minutes a nurse is gonna come in, check on you, flash a light in your eyes- and then she's gonna come back a half an hour after that. You know why? It's because you have a head injury, and broken ribs, and they need to monitor you. You. Are. Not. Okay."

"Well, I see that _someone _is being a little angry."

"Yeah, I'm angry," Anna sighs. "My _Dad_… my own freaking Father almost got you killed." She clenches her jaw. "You know, I told him if he comes near you that I'd bring him down myself."

"What are you talking about?" Elsa asks, her face twisting in confusion.

"Els, I'm talking about Alexander. How bad is your head injury? My Dad got that website shut down because he was being a dick, and then that lunatic came after _you._"

"Oh," Elsa whispers, closing her eyes. She takes in a breath. "That was… that was a different thing." She says, not exactly sure where to start this conversation about her past.

"Ahhh", Anna breathes, "-you're getting all vague, so this must be something about you or your past that you don't want to _put on my shoulders._"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh," Anna laughs, "-don't play dumb, Elsa. You went to college. I know you're not dumb."

Elsa rolls her eyes. "You're an ass."

"I am," Anna says, sighing. "I know that. But you love me, so you should open up to me… even though I'm an ass… because I love you, and I don't want anymore _phone calls._"

"You're not gonna get anymore bad phone calls, alright?" Elsa means those words. She can't think of any other skeletons that might be waiting in her closet. It's both a satisfying thought, and a scary one- considering there had actually been someone plotting to kill her.

Anna takes in a deep breath and releases it, leaning her forehead against Elsa's chin. "That's good to know, Els. Really. It is… but, what was this about? Just tell me."

"Alexander," Elsa starts, "-he was a… he was stalking me way before your father ever did anything. I just never knew it. What happened was pretty much inevitable, I'm guessing."

"Is there any reason that he'd stalk you? Was he just some whack job? Elsa, that's fucking scary." Anna's voice sounds afraid, and Elsa shifts in the bed, trying to figure out a way to calm the younger girl down.

"You're telling me," Elsa says, with a small laugh.

"No," Anna starts, propping herself up over Elsa. "He was in your room, Elsa. This crazy, creepy man was in your room. Els, that shit is ridiculous. Who is he? What's his problem?"

"Calm down, Banana," Elsa smiles. "I'm fine. I'm here and he isn't. You don't have to freak out." She pauses and takes in a breath. "Alexander and I were in the orphanage together… back in Norway, as kids."

"Whoa, shit. That's... Okay, keep going."

Elsa brings her hand up and places it on Anna's cheek. "You gotta give me a kiss first," trying to distract Anna from the conversation.

"Els…," Anna whispers, not taking the bait.

"I'm kidding," Elsa laughs, dropping her hand. She's only slightly upset that the younger girl didn't actually kiss her.

Anna then bends forward and places a kiss on Elsa's cheek. "Tell me about the orphanage. Why were you there?" she asks, pulling back.

"I uhhh," Elsa starts, looking away from Anna. _How do I put this?_ "I was in the orphanage because my Mother died and... my Papa went to jail sort of... all at the same time, so..."

"Were those two things separate events, like-" Anna pauses as Elsa takes in a breath. "Well, okay… uhm your nurse should probably be here soon. We can pretend we're asleep. She might get angry if she finds out you're not resting."

"It's okay," Elsa whispers. "She can be angry." She's glad that Anna decided to change the subject. She isn't sure if she was quite ready to go into that conversation. She hadn't even brought it up in therapy yet.

"So, ahh, maybe… should I just stop talking?" Anna asks.

Elsa shakes her head. "No, keep talking. Your voice is like my most favorite-_ist_ thing in the world," she smiles.

"Compliments won't get you anywhere, Elsa Askeland," Anna retorts. "Well, at least not tonight."

"It was worth a shot, right?"

Anna lies back down on the pillow, facing Elsa. "Listen… maybe we don't have to tell my Dad about the whole stalker bit… I mean, while he's feeling guilty about this... he's sort of okay-_ish _with us."

Elsa's eyes widen. "Like us, _us_?"

"I thought you were dead, Elsa. I panicked."

Elsa draws in a breath as she feels her heart rate start to increase. "He's going to kill me. I just escaped death, and now I'm going to die. I can't-"

"No. No, no, no," Anna exclaims, sitting up again. "I told him that it happened _way _after you quit working at the school… and like, as long as he thinks you almost died_ because_ of him-"

Elsa tries to sit up, but drops back to the bed immediately, wincing in pain. "Anna we can't lie to him. That's not okay."

"It's not hurting anyone," Anna pleads. She takes in a breath. "Honestly, Elsa… he hasn't said much, but I get the feeling that maybe we're on thin ice. We just have to get him to warm up to it, _then _maybe we can drop that -oh by the way, it wasn't your fault bomb- okay?"

"I don't think I can face him," Elsa says, softly. "Like I don't think that I'm ready to even talk to him. Is he gonna give me the talk? Like the _Dad _talk, with the gun… you know?" _Shit, this isn't good._

"Ohhh," Anna says, softly, "-the don't-hurt-my-daughter talk? Yeah, you're probably gonna get that," she laughs, before pausing briefly. "I think he's happy about the fact that, when faced with danger, you put my safety first. It's hard to overlook that. You've looked out for my life twice now."

"Do you really think he'll be okay with this?"

Anna moves her hand to Elsa's cheek, running a thumb across the smooth skin. "He's stubborn, and loud… and really intimidating, but at the end of the day, I'm still his little girl… and you've worked hard to make sure that I stay safe. I can't say that if things will be a cake walk, but I think we'll be okay."

"There's still hope for little Anna Jr., then." Elsa gives Anna a slight smile. "How did we get here?"

Anna let's out a small laugh, shrugging. "You sort of grew on me I guess. I don't let many people into this heart of steel... And maybe Anna Jr. isn't such a great name. Anabelle sounds nice, though, right?"

* * *

><p>Elsa wakes up, but Anna is nowhere to be found. The sun is shining bright through the window and she gets a chance to really take in the hospital room. There are tons of flowers, several bouquets, scattered throughout the space. <em>Wonder who sent those,<em> she thinks as she tries to count the amount of people she knows, versus the number of bouquets.

After a little while she gives up and closes her eyes, hoping to get some more sleep, but a knock at the door startles her. She then opens her eyes to see Mr. Perelman.

"Mind if I come in?" he asks.

Elsa nods. "Of course," she squeaks, her voice coming out higher pitched than she intended. _Can't really tell you no. _

Mr. Perelman strides into the room, over to the side of Elsa's bed. His deep blue eyes assessing her shrewdly. His suit is dark, as if he just came from, or is on his way to work.

As he gets closer to the bed, Elsa's heart starts to race, but he surprises her by taking her hand into his own, and running a thumb over her knuckles.

"How are you?" He asks, his voice calm.

Elsa takes in a breath. "I think I'm going to be okay. If detective Oaken hadn't come in when he did, I probably would have been shot- most likely killed. So, I gotta say that things could be worse."

Mr. Perelman gives her a firm nod, staring intently into her eyes. "Anna tells me that you were adamant about wanting me to know that it's not my fault." He draws in a breath. "I'm new to this idea of…" He clears his throat. "I don't have anything bad to say about you, Elsa. You're a woman of respectable character and you've been good to Anna… so if you continue to put forth those qualities, I don't know why I'd ever consider you anything less than family."

Elsa opens her mouth to speak, but closes it again. She then takes in a breath and attempts again. "Y-you're not angry? I mean… you seemed like you'd be angry."

Mr. Perelman runs a hand through his hair. "I pushed Anna's mother too hard, and I lost her. If I had taken the time to stop, and… I don't want to lose Anna. Sure, she's made some bad decisions in her lifetime, but I don't think you're one of them. I know she's safe with you, and that's really all a father can ask for."

"I'd never hurt her, Mr. Perelman. I would never do anything to hurt her," Elsa states, firmly.

"Good," he laughs, "-I don't think I have to tell you what will happen if you do." He takes a look at his watch. "I should probably get going, and let Anna back in." He stands from the bed and walks toward the door, turning around right before he exits. "I don't like Anna missing too many days of school, so do us a favor and stop getting hurt."

* * *

><p>"Anna!" Elsa calls from the bathroom, attempting to lift her arm in just the right way to not agitate her ribs, as she tries to brush her teeth. "Anna, get up. You're going to be late for school!"<p>

"I'm up!" she hears Anna call, followed by a brief period of silence.

Elsa walks out of the bathroom to find the younger girl asleep sitting up, hair messy, and snoring. "Anna," she says, firmly, "-you need to get out of bed, babe."

Anna's head springs up as she opens her eyes. "What, huh? I'm up, Els. I was just… getting out of bed."

"No you weren't," Elsa laughs, slightly spraying toothpaste. "Get up and take a shower, so you can get to school. Do you really want your father to kill me?"

Anna scrambles out of the bed, and starts to head toward the bathroom. "Stop worrying, Elsa. He likes you," she mumbles. "I don't know why you can't accept that."

"Because the idea of killing me makes him laugh," Elsa states, matter-of-factly.

"Don't worry, babe. You gotta hard head."

Elsa walks back into the bathroom, looking into the mirror as she continues to brush her teeth. "If we got into a battle," she starts, before spitting out the toothpaste, "-who's side would you be on? Me or him?"

"Jesus. I'm always on the side of Christ."

Elsa takes a swig of water, swiveling it around in her mouth, before spitting it out. "That was actually the _only_ correct answer. Well done."

Anna walks into the bathroom, pulling down her pajama pants as she takes a seat on the toilet. She then rests her elbow on her knee and she sits her chin in her hand.

Elsa stares in silence for a moment. "We've definitely gotten too comfortable with each other. I'm going to go fetch up something to eat, okay?"

"Okay," Anna replies, sleepily.

Elsa walks over and places a quick kiss to Anna's forehead before turning to exit the bathroom. "Try not to fall asleep on the toilet, Anna."

Anna groans, running a hand through her hair. "Why do I have to go to school today, anyway? It's not like we're doing anything."

"You have graduation rehearsal," Elsa laughs.

"Right," Anna whispers, "-graduation."


	26. Dress

"This dress costs more than everything I've ever had in my life… combined."

Anna lifts a brow and walks toward Elsa, leaning to get a view of the price tag. "Well, you have me now, and I'm worth a lot more than that dress if it makes you feel any better."

Elsa drops the tag from her hand with a sigh. Being able to be a couple in public was starting to highlight a few of the discrepancies in her and Anna's relationship. The novelty of the relationship is starting to wear off, and they no longer have the added distraction of having to sneak around. Now, Elsa can look to Anna without being blinded by how attracted she is to the younger girl.

The feeling is both good, and bad. She is able to take a more objective perspective when responding to certain things, but the shocking part, she finds, is that lately some things about Anna are just coming off as… well, _annoying_.

Right now, the strawberry-blonde's willingness to toss insane amounts of money at the most unnecessary things, is really getting under Elsa's skin. "I would feel better if you just didn't get anything from this store," Elsa whispers. She closes her eyes briefly at how passive aggressive that sounded, but with her dislike for confrontations she doesn't know any other way to get her point across.

"Why not?" Anna asks, distracted by an extravagant green dress. "I can afford it, so it's really not an issue."

"That's not the point," Elsa breathes. _Great, now I just sound whiny. _"I mean that… well no one is going to even see this dress. You're going to be wearing a gown for the entire ceremony, and I doubt you'll have any other use for this… so, maybe you should get one that isn't so expensive."

Anna turns to Elsa, her face twisting in confusion. "What part of 'I can afford it' did you not understand?"

Elsa fingers the collar of her shirt, willing herself to remain calm, unsure of why everything Anna says seems to bother her today. "I understood you perfectly Anna. Just because you can…" She takes in a breath, looking around the store. "Look, maybe we can come to some sort of compromise here."

Anna runs a hand through her hair, obviously frustrated. "I compromise _so _much for you Elsa. I don't say certain things, or ask certain questions, because I know it would bother you. I risked my Dad skinning me alive by telling him about our relationship, because _you _kept me in the dark… shit, I couldn't even be mad about you cheating on me, because you were freaking out when you admitted it. I give up so much for you. Just let me buy a damn dress."

Elsa takes a step back, her breathing increasing as she folds her hands and brings them up to her chest. _I gave up my life for you_, she thinks. But she doesn't say it. Part of her feels like it's inappropriate, and the other part feels like it's not even a true statement. Her life wasn't really much until she met Anna.

She decides to focus on something else that the younger girl said. "You told me your Father was okay with this. He said he's okay with this, so why even bring it up?"

Anna holds up a hand, taking a tentative step toward Elsa. "He _is _okay with this… sort of." She pauses and draws in a shaky breath. "I guess I forced his hand a little bit, but it doesn't really matter now. What matters is that he's on boar-"

"What are you talking about?" Elsa cuts in, her voice cold. It's becoming harder for her to think. She can't process what Anna is trying to say.

"I just embellished the truth a little bit. I told him that I pursued you… relentlessly. I said I told you that I talked to him about us, and said he was okay with it. I said I kept deterring you from talking to him yourself. I told him that day in his office completely caught you off guard, but by that time you were in love with me. I told him not letting me see you would be like adding salt to your wounds, and that I if he kept us apart I'd never talk to him again. When I told him you wanted him to know it wasn't his fault, I made it seem like it still was, but you wanted him to _think_ it wasn't."

"Anna you can't-"

Anna starts to nervously twist her hands around each other. "I know, Elsa… but now he's not mad at you. He's a little mad at me, but he'll get over that because I'm his daughter."

Elsa runs a hand over her face as she releases a deep sigh. "You didn't just lie to him, though. You also lied to me. You can't control people with lies, Anna… I should have known from the first day I met you..." Elsa trails off, wishing she had never started that sentence.

"Okay," Anna whispers. "I guess I deserved that… but I don't deserve the way you've been treating me the past couple of days, and I need you to know that I'm trying. But sometimes keeping everyone happy gets hard, so I lie. It's just that… no one ever seems to be trying to make me happy. Everyone just tries to control my life without consulting me about it… saying they're making sure that I'm _safe_. Like I can't make decisions for myself."

"Well, obviously you can't," Elsa nearly shouts.

"Why are you angry?"

Elsa shrugs, shaking her head. "Because… I just." She takes in a breath. "You don't get to ask me that, Anna."

Anna closes her eyes and lets out a sigh before reopening them. "When did you stop?"

"Stop what?"

"When did you stop taking your meds?"

Elsa's eyes widen in shock, as a small smile crosses her lips. "Wow, Anna. Okay. Just call me crazy. Make this about my meds, because I-"

"No. No, no, no," Anna interrupts. "It's just… you've been taking them for more than a month and a half so stopping abruptly can sometimes cause you to feel upset or confused and not know why. I think you're going through withdrawal. And I think it's perfectly fine if you don't want to take them, but you have to do this the right way, and let Dr. Gothel help wean you off… because I can't continue to be in this relationship if you're going to act like this. I'm not your punching bag."

Elsa nods, her face softening. She _did _stop taking her medication, and it _had _started to become harder for her to control her outbursts, but she didn't want to tie those two things together. She doesn't want to believe that she can't live a normal life without taking medication.

"I stopped a few days ago," she admits. "I thought, you know, I was feeling better so I didn't need them anymore. I thought I just needed them until I felt okay… and then I could take it from there myself. I'm not crazy, Anna. I don't think I'm crazy."

"I don't think you're crazy either, Els... but I also don't think you can just quit something like this."

Elsa shakes her head before looking down at the floor. "I mean… I wasn't always like this. I was a happy kid. I was really really happy," Elsa says, seemingly more to herself than to Anna. She looks up. "She was my Mother," she starts, shakily, "-and I saw… I saw him. I saw him do it, Anna. My Papa... I-"

Elsa closes her mouth and shuts her eyes. Those weren't the words she meant to say, but she said them. They had come out, and she had finally told someone other than Alexander. The truth is, she doesn't know how she didn't recognize him, how she didn't notice the boy that she would confide in late at night when she was a kid.

And maybe that was it.

Maybe he wanted to kill her because she didn't remember him. Maybe that was her chance in the hospital and she missed it. But now he's dead, and she'll never get the chance to ask. People she cares about seem to have a funny way of getting hurt around her, and she doesn't want to have to add Anna to that list.

Elsa opens her eyes and a tear falls down her cheek. She opens her mouth to speak but no words come out. She then wipes away the tear and shrugs. "And now sometimes I panic when a store doesn't have my favorite brand of toothpaste. And it's hard for me to trust anything or anyone, but most importantly it's hard to trust myself... and that's not fair to you. I can't keep being the person that you have to exhaust all of your energy on."

"Elsa…"

"I used to be so happy and carefree," Elsa continues. "So, I know that it's possible. I just have to work hard enough. I didn't need any pills or therapy. I just enjoyed life… and for a moment I felt like that again. Just being with you and enjoying life. I thought I didn't need the pills, so I stopped… and then it went away. The happiness went away. It wasn't real."

Anna walks to Elsa, putting her hands on either one of her cheeks and staring to her icy blue eyes. "It _was _real, Elsa. Even if you were taking pills. I know it's hard to believe, and I don't know how to describe it, but what you felt was real happiness."

Elsa leans her forehead against Anna's and closes her eyes. "How do you know?"

"I just know, Els. And…" Anna takes in a deep breath and releases it. "-as hard as is to accept it… the girl you used to be is gone."

Elsa lets out a small whimper and Anna moves her hands down, wrapping them around the older woman's waist. "You can still have happiness," Anna assures, "-but you have to figure out some other way to achieve it. Everything _isn't _the same. You're a different person." She pauses for a moment. "I know exactly how you feel. Trying to figure out how to get back to the way you were after a tragedy like that. I haven't quite figured it out myself, but being with you helps... I hope that being with _me_ helps."

Elsa sniffs and lets out a small laugh, pulling her head up. "Of course it does. More than you know." She gives Anna a reassuring smile. "You get a lot of shit for being the person that makes sure everyone else is happy… but you can't let that build up to the point where you're taking out innocent tennis coaches," she adds, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Oh my God," Anna groans, "-just drop it already. I'm trying to do a thing here."

"I'm just saying," Elsa chuckles, "-I don't want any calls from college." She pauses and her smile fades away. "We're gonna be okay, right?"

She isn't sure anymore and she needs Anna to say it. If Anna says it, she can believe it.

"Yeah," Anna nods, "I think we'll be just fine. We need… _you _need to talk to Dr. Gothel, and then look into finding a different type of therapy, if the pills don't do it for you. Therapy seems to work for you, so you should stick with it instead of fighting against it. Maybe it'd be cool if I tagged along sometime."

"I think that sounds nice," Elsa smiles.

"Do you ladies need any help?" Both women turn at the same time, startled by the small sales representative dressed in all black. She gives the her best fake smile as she waits for them to answer.

Anna shakes her head. "No we don't need any help. We're just looking."

The lady continues to stare at them, not showing any intent to move on.

Elsa reaches behind her back and grabs Anna's hand, pulling it from around her waist, before turning for the exit. "And now we're leaving," she chirps, as they start to walk away.

Anna laughs, struggling to keep up with the older woman's pace. "What was that?"

"She was judging us," Elsa states, her voice clipped.

"I think you'll say anything to get me to not shop here."

Elsa stops walking and she turns to Anna, giving the shorter girl's hand a gentle squeeze. "You don't _really _want to shop in a place that has employees like that, do you?"

"I don't really mind," Anna shrugs. "I come here for the clothes, not the employees' winning smiles and gracious hospitality."

"There are places where you can get all three."

"Like what?"

"Sears."

Anna blinks a few times before slightly tilting her head in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."


	27. Mama

Elsa looks down at the sparkling water below her dangling feet, watching it shimmer as the moonlight bounces off of the small ripples. She then tilts her head up and stares at the over hanging rock above her. "This is beautiful," she whispers, dropping her head and turning toward Anna.

Anna nods. "I figured you'd like it." She closes her eyes and sucks in a deep breath through her nose, releasing it from her mouth. "Sorry I brought you out here at two in the morning, but I graduate in eight hours… and there's something I need to do."

Elsa studies the younger woman for a moment, noticing how the pale light is bouncing off of her freckles as she stares up at the bright sphere in the sky.

"My Mom once told me that you could come here to talk to the dead," Anna whispers. She turns toward Elsa. "Not in like a creepy way or anything. She said she'd come here sometimes and talk to her grandfather. Back in the day they used to call this spirit rock or something."

"Back in the day?" Elsa laughs, raising a brow. She lifts her hand and runs a thumb across Anna's cheek. "How often do you come here?"

"I come here occasionally now, but I used to come here a _lot_. I had a hard time…" She trails off and takes in another breath.

"Is there any reason that you wanted me to come with you this time?"

Anna nods, smiling broadly. "Yeah," she whispers, "-you sort of inspired this visit. I just was thinking and uhm… I'm just gonna talk, and you can… you can jump in if you want."

Elsa looks around and shrugs. "I don't know, Anna. I feel like this is really personal, so maybe I shouldn't."

"Okay, that's fine, too," Anna insists, nodding vigorously. "I don't want you to leave, though. I want you to be here, so maybe… you can just listen?"

"You sure?"

"I'm positive."

Anna gives Elsa a small, reassuring smile before turning and looking up toward the moon again. She then clears her throat and looks down at her hands, before lifting her head once more. "Hey," she starts, her voice a little shaky.

"I uhhh, I-" Anna briefly looks at Elsa before turing back toward the moon. "So, I wasn't really sure that I was going to go to college when this year started… and honestly, I don't think I was even going to apply. I figured I'm rich, you know? Why bother? Why even go through the trouble?"

She clears her throat again and looks back at her hands as she knots her fingers together. "I was a little lost. Making bad decisions and hanging with the wrong people… trusting the wrong people. It was all a little… anyway, what I'm trying to say is that Elsa changed all of that."

Anna looks up and gives Elsa a small smile. Elsa takes in a deep breath, unsure of how she should respond as she witnesses this deeply personal situation.

Anna looks back to the moon. "Elsa cares… more than she should, honestly. It may not seem like it at first, but she does. She knows the real meaning of sacrifice… and she saw something in me when no one else did. She's nothing short of phenomenal."

She pauses for a long while, seemingly deep in thought. "Well," she finally starts, again, "-I don't really know the science behind what makes a person who they are, but I figure it has a lot to do with experiences… and the people they encounter in their lives. Without you there'd be no Elsa, literally- you brought her into this world… so, I just want to thank you. I'm graduating tomorrow and I'm going to college… and you were a part of making that possible."

Elsa shifts, suddenly feeling cold, her nerves sliding along her skin at the sudden realization of exactly who Anna is talking to. She feels like someone picked her up and dropped her into a bucket of ice cold water. The younger girl doesn't seem to notice, though. She just continues to speak.

"I don't really know what kind of Mom you were, or what kind of Mom you never got to be, but regardless of any of that- you should be proud. Elsa is strong, smart…. caring and brave… she's a great daughter, and a great friend, and an amazing girlfriend. You probably already know how great she is… but I just wanted to say it. And I wanted to thank you."

When Anna is finished Elsa searches her mind for something to say, but there seems to only be one thing floating through her head. The only question that matters right now. She opens her mouth, initially hesitant to speak, but then the words come spilling out. "D-do you really think she's listening?"

Anna turns to the older woman and offers her a slight shrug. "Yeah. Why not?"

Elsa looks down and scratches at the fabric on her jeans. She has never done anything like this and, honestly, if Anna had told her this is what they'd be doing- she wouldn't have come.

It's just that simple.

But now that she's here… now that she has the chance, she feels that there's only one thing she _can _do. And it's about time, really. She's been avoiding this conversation for as long as she can remember.

"Mama," she starts, her voice quiet. Softer than a whisper even. She looks up to Anna, wide-eyed and afraid. "How do I do this, Anna?"

Anna scoots closer to her, their shoulders touching, and she takes Elsa's hand into hers. "I like to stare at the moon. It's kind of cheesy, but it makes me feel like something greater is out there. It makes me feel like they're actually listening."

Elsa nods and gives Anna's hand a squeeze as she looks up to the moon. She takes in a deep breath, gathering all of the courage she can muster up. "Hi, Mama," she says, this time with a little more confidence.

She looks to Anna again, and the younger girl gives her a reassuring nod. "Keep going. It's okay."

Elsa draws in a shaky breath, looking back to the moon. "Uhhh, Lenge siden sist," she breathes, laughing nervously. Her shaky smile then fades, and she bites down on her lower lip, pausing for a while before she speaks again. "Jeg saver deg," she finally whispers.

Elsa's chest starts to heave as she tries to fight back the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. She shuts them and tries to reach for her calm again. She knows it's in there, somewhere, but at the moment, it's elusive.

After a while she gives up and opens her eyes, accepting the inevitable as a warm tear drops down her cheek. "I'm… I'm so sorry," she cries. She then sniffs and closes her eyes again. "I know that maybe it doesn't seem like I miss you, but I do. I really do."

She opens her eyes, looking back to the moon, praying that her Mother is actually listening. "I know I haven't visited you, or tried to talk to you… and I chose not to go to your funeral… but you gotta know that-" Elsa pauses and swallows past the lump in her throat that's trying to escape as a sob. Once the feeling passes, she starts to speak again. "-it's hard. You gotta know that it's hard."

She squeezes Anna's hand a little harder. "I should have done something. That's what I used to think. I should have saved you. That thought would play through my head every second of every day. It wasn't until recently that I realized that I couldn't do anything. There isn't much that I could have done."

Anna leans her head on Elsa's shoulder, and Elsa lets out a breath, deeply comforted by the strawberry-blonde's presence. "I used to think that you'd be mad at me…," she continues, "-but right now, sitting here- I kind of don't think that anymore… and I hope I'm right. I don't know why what happened, happened. I never asked why or wanted to know… and I'm fine not knowing. I am."

She sniffs once again as the last of her tears falls. "I know you'd want me to be happy. That would probably be what you would tell me if you could say one thing to me right now. I think part of me has always known that… but I fucked that up. I dug myself into an emotional hole and made it almost impossible to climb out… but here I am, climbing."

Elsa drops her head and smiles as she lets out a small, joyous laugh. She looks back to the moon with newfound hope in her eyes. "I'm going to medical school. I applied… and I got in. I stopped doubting myself for one moment, and it paid off. I know you'd be proud of me."

She pauses and looks down, her smile fading as a thought she can't remember having for a long time now floats through her mind. "I'm proud of myself," she whispers.

Anna smiles and leans over, pressing a kiss to Elsa's cheek. "I'm proud of you, too," she chirps.

Elsa looks up, her blue eyes meeting Anna's teal orbs. "You're a goof," she smiles.

Anna shakes her head, smiling, before leaning in and pressing a kiss to the older woman's lips. "But I'm _your_ goof," she laughs, before kissing Elsa once more.

"Stop it," Elsa giggles. "We can't kiss in front of my Mother. That's really awkward."

"It's okay," Anna states. "She'll look away." She turns toward the moon flicking her hand at it. "Look away, Elsa's Mom. You might not wanna see this."

Elsa releases Anna's hand and snakes her arm around the younger girl's waist. She then pulls her in closer and shoves her nose in Anna's strawberry-blonde hair, pressing a soft kiss to the smooth locks. "I love you."

"No matter what?" Anna asks, her voice small.

Elsa smiles into Anna's hair. "Yeah, I'm always going to be by your side."

She then pulls her head back, and Anna turns to face her. "You never told me that you applied to med school."

"Well, you didn't think I'd let you go off to college without me, did you?"


	28. Graduation

"Do I really have to wear this dumb thing, it keeps leaning the wrong way."

Elsa lifts her hands and tries to adjust Anna's graduation cap, but after seconds of shifting and pulling, it just leans back awkwardly to one side. "I don't know," she laughs. "Maybe you got it a size too big or something."

"Elsa you have to fix it," Anna whines. "I can't give my speech like this. It's embarrassing."

"Speech?" Elsa asks, incredulously. This is the first time she's heard anything about this.

"Yeah."

"What?" she gasps. "Anna why didn't you tell me about this? Are you ready? Has anyone heard it yet? Do you want to read it to me? You could have told me about this."

Anna places a hand on Elsa's shoulder, giving the older woman a concerned look. "I'm fine, Els. Remind me not to let you have _that _much coffee in the morning. You're more nervous than I am about a speech _I _have to give."

Elsa takes in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself, fearing she might end up making a scene on Anna's big day. "Sorry, but we were up pretty late and I just needed a boost. Why are you giving a speech?"

"Maybe some people think I actually have something interesting to say," Anna laughs.

Elsa blushes and runs a hand through her bangs. "I wasn't trying to say you didn't, Anna. It's just… most graduations are pretty straight forward, and there are always designated people to give speeches."

"Ah, well each year the senior class votes for one _designated_ person to give a speech, and that happened to be me this year… And before you ask again- yes I'm ready… and I had to read it to the principal because she thought I might say something inappropriate."

Elsa opens her mouth to speak again, but a loud booming voice comes from behind her.

"Anna! Get over here you little punk."

Elsa turns to find Olaf with outstretched arms as Anna runs to him colliding with his chest. "Glad you could make it," Anna smiles as he pulls her into a hug.

Olaf pushes her back and places a kiss on her forehead. "I wouldn't miss this for the world, Banana. You ready to make that speech?"

Elsa's eyes widen as she steps closer to the two of them. "_He _knew about the speech, and _I _didn't? Anna-"

Elsa is once again interrupted by someone, but this time it isn't a welcomed voice.

"Hey, coach Askeland," Hans smirks as he walks up to her. "You ever get tired of Anna, you can always come hop on this-"

Olaf places a firm hand on Hans' shoulder, his eyes burning with a calm hostility. "Go ahead and finish that sentence, buddy. I dare you to."

Elsa, desperately wanting to avoid conflict that revolved around her, puts a hand on Olaf's chest- prompting him to take a step back. "Come on, guys. Lets not do this. This is a graduation. Please," she pleads.

Olaf takes in a breath and removes his hand from Hans' shoulder, taking a step back. Elsa turns to face him with a smile. "Thank y-"

"Ow, _shit!_" comes Hans' cry from behind Elsa.

She then closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. This day is becoming too much for her to handle. She's tired, hyped up on caffeine, and slightly overwhelmed.

After a couple seconds of deep breathing, Elsa opens her eyes and turns around to Hans clutching his lip, glaring at Anna, who is shaking her hand in pain.

"What happened?" Elsa asks, not hiding the frustration in her tone. "I literally turned around for one second."

"He had it coming," Anna quips. "He crossed the line talking to you like that… and he's just a dick in general."

Hans goes to lunge forward, but he stops last minute, his eyes widening as he begins to retreat. Anna turns and looks behind Elsa with a laugh. "It's good to see you, Oaken," she chirps.

Elsa steps aside, making room for Oaken in the conversation, and he steps forward, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze. "It's good to see you, as well, Ms. Perelman. It's good to see both of you doing well," he finishes, looking to Elsa with a smile.

Anna nods, shooting him a large toothy grin. "I'm just so excited," she starts, "-I really wasn't sure if you'd make it. Like, that was a real long shot."

"Well I can't miss your speech, now can I?"

Elsa's ears start to burn as her irritation rises. "Seriously, Anna? _He _knew. Of _all _the people… I'm just not... Are there going to be anymore surprises today, because I can't take much more."

Anna twists her fingers together, and tilts her head, her hat coming dangerously close to tipping off. "There's just one more," she says apprehensively. "It's… well, they're behind you."

Before Elsa can turn around, she hears the familiar voices of her adoptive parents. If they know about the speech, she's going to lose it.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Askeland. I'm glad you could make it," Anna waves.

Gerda walks up behind Elsa, placing a hand on her back. "We wouldn't miss the graduation of our future daughter-in-law."

Elsa quickly turns toward Gerda. "_Really?_" she whines.

Gerda gives her a soft smile, before tilting her head. "Do you think we can talk alone for a moment, Elsa? There's something I need to tell you."

Elsa searches her mind for what her Mother could possibly want to talk about, but she comes up empty, so she shrugs. "Sure, is everything okay?'

"Yeah," Gerda nods. "Just come with me."

Elsa follows her mother to a small alcove in the hallway, where there aren't many people around. Gerda gives her a small, strained smile before she begins to speak. "Elsa, when you broke down in front of me in that room, it made me start thinking-"

"Mom…" Elsa interrupts, sensing where this might be going. "You don't-"

"No, Elsa," Gerda continues, "-let me finish." She takes in a deep breath, folding her hands together, but maintaining eye contact. "As I sat there giving you… half-assed advice, and… I realized that you've been going through a lot. You've went through a lot and I haven't really stepped up to the plate and just been a mother. I always try to tell you good things, or what you want to hear. I always tell you that life is great."

"But life _is _great, right?"

"Yeah," Gerda agrees, "-but that isn't what you need to hear. It's been a long time coming, but here I am, saying what needs to be said. You're an adult now, so I'm going to speak to you like one. You deserve that."

Gerda takes in a breath and closes her eyes briefly before reopening them. "You have been through _so _much in life. More than _anyone _should ever have to go through. And just…" Gerda trails off, and looks away.

Elsa lifts a hand and gently rubs her mother's arm. "What is it?"

"Look," Gerda starts, looking back to Elsa. "I know sometimes the world feels nine sizes too small for our pain, but no matter how dark and overwhelming… and unbearably worthless it all seems, the world will get a fraction of a centimeter bigger every day. Every freaking day."

She swallows and takes in a breath. "You don't even notice it for a long time, until suddenly it's only 8 sizes too small, and then seven. The world will just keep getting larger and larger compared to your torn soul, that it will eventually be able to hold it… and then outgrow it to the point where your pain is just a speck in your world."

Elsa remains silent, staring her mother in the eyes. The words are resonating with her on the deepest level, and Gerda was right- these _are _the words she needed to hear, coming from the person she needed to hear them from.

"It's supposed to feel like the end of the world right now," Gerda continues. "You regret not doing therapy, or making other decisions and that hurts you… but Elsa, that's how you know that you're growing up, and experiencing things, rather than living safely in risk-free choices."

Elsa takes in a sharp breath, because until this moment, she'd never thought about her life in that way.

Gerda runs a hand through her hair. "Everything is going south, and the only part of you that knows it won't be like this forever is in the most dormant recesses of the backmost corner of your soul. That is how it's supposed to be."

She pauses, her eyes lighting up as she smiles. "You're supposed to know elusively, and abstractly that your purpose in life is so much larger than you can imagine. You'll eat waffles with Anna on hot summer nights, and watch bad indie movies or secretly read trashy novels and join online book clubs to discuss. And you will get to a point where you can look back on the pain with a distance… and to a point where you know, for a fact, that you are happy."

Gerda then pulls Elsa into a hug, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I love you, Elsa. You're so brave and so strong… and I'm so proud of you for everything you've accomplished."

Elsa smiles, and closes her eyes, melting into the hug. Sometimes she gets overwhelmed, and sometimes the world _does_ feel like it's ending, but she has a mom, two dads, a brother, a loving girlfriend, and a detective who cares enough about her to show up to her girlfriend's graduation.

She has everything she needs to survive.

Sure, she's made plenty of bad choices in her life, but even if it meant that _only_ an inconsequential fraction of what she has now could be jeopardized, she'd never in a million years take any one of them back.

-X-X-X-

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: Hey, friends. So, this is the end of this journey. It's been fun, and challenging, and a little time consuming (in a good way), but I'd like to thank everyone for reading/reviewing/just coming along for the ride. You guys and gals are great!**

**I might post an epilogue in the near future, but other than that, good luck with life and stay cool.**


	29. EPILOGUE

**A/N: **The epilogue is finally here. Sorry this took so long. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this. I love you all. And stuff.

Until next time.

* * *

><p>Anna's been on red alert for four weeks now. Everything and everyone is a potential danger. And she can't sit still. She can't think straight. She's been tracking little charts and just.<p>

It'd be easier for her if she hadn't told everyone when it's supposed to be happening. Because now they keep asking about it, and they want to know. Her cousins are calling and her Father's all of sudden like crazy interested in her personal life. _And _she's started getting gifts. It's too early for gifts. And maybe she shouldn't have read _What to Expect When You're Expecting. _

That's it. She can't take it anymore. Anna picks up her phone and dials Elsa for the sixth time today. It's only lunch time. "Elsa, where are you?"

"I'm in my office. I'm at my desk. Why? What's wrong?"

Anna lets out a sigh of relief. "Nothing. Uhhh, so you know anything about the baby yet?"

Elsa's silent for a few seconds, then she lets out a breath. "Just went to the restroom, Anna. It makes two weeks exactly, today. Are you going to keep calling me all day?" She sounds stressed. She's probably as anxious as Anna. She pauses, but not long enough for Anna to answer. "Never mind. I don't want to know. Get back to work, hun."

Elsa hangs up and Anna's only slightly annoyed by that. Like, she didn't really get the chance to ask Elsa how her day's going or if she's stressed or needs to take some time away to breathe, because college kids can be a lot to handle sometimes. And even though Elsa's found out that she actually has a knack for teaching when she's comfortable with herself and not attracted to her students, Anna knows how she used to cry at lunch.

It's overwhelming. All of this is overwhelming and Anna can't handle it. She wants to step out of her office but she knows her father will see her and then he'll want to know about his grandchild. His _grandchild _might not even be a thing. And Anna's all for family bonding, but he's never been this excited about anything, and it's kind of… _weird_.

It makes her want to say something crazy to him. Because every now and then she feels this unnecessary sass bubbling deep in her gut or low in her throat, but she swallows it down because she's a woman now and she can't do or say the things she did and said when she was a girl. But, this is making it hard for her to control herself.

She just wants her baby to be okay. She just wants her baby to be _there. _She wants the test to be positive. It's not such a bad thing.

It's funny because she thought Elsa would be the one freaking out and talking about buying a sensible car or having very tame, polite sex, or only eating certain things and never, ever leaving the house at night. And the baby's not even there but she's been binge reading internet articles like crazy.

This is it. This is the end of Anna's life.

She's going to have a heart attack at the age of twenty-four. Before she can even… rent a car, or… well, officially say she's too old to be on her parents' health insurance or something.

She doesn't know who to turn to. She's so on edge today that she can't even begin to think about being productive at work.

The baby wasn't even her idea. It was Elsa's.

Not that Anna is opposed to starting a family with kids and all that, she just didn't… doesn't know if she's quite ready for it yet. When Elsa first brought it up, it sort of escalated rather quickly into one of the bigger fights they've had… ever.

At some point Elsa kind of got the idea that Anna was arguing that she wouldn't be fit to carry the baby. That she couldn't do it or something. And she found that pretty offensive and she snapped at Anna and called her reckless.

And Anna sometimes doesn't know when to back down, so pretty soon she was yelling, "Well, I'm not the one who's constantly having panic attacks or ending up in the hospital."

Elsa's pretty shitty in arguments, so it took her a minute to respond, but she finally said, "No, you're just the _reason_ that I'm constantly having panic attacks and ending up in the hospital."

At that, Anna took a step forward, but Elsa took one back and Anna lifted a gentle hand. "I'm sorry, Els. But, I don't know where this is coming from. You're just springing this on me."

"Fine. I'll just drop it, alright?"

But it wasn't alright. It wasn't alright when Elsa slept on the other side of the bed. It wasn't alright when for two weeks she'd only text Anna if it was absolutely necessary. And it wasn't alright when Elsa wouldn't even sit by her during dinner with the family.

So, finally, Anna jumped on the baby train and she finally went along with the whole idea, but she kind of wasn't expecting the anxiety that comes along with having everything she cares about the most in this world bundled up in one package. Because now her wife and her future could be all kind of one thing and she doesn't know what to do with these nerves.

So, she calls Elsa again. "Els… don't hang up this time."

"Okay, I won't. But, I have office hours in fifteen minutes. So, I'll have to go then."

"That's fine. I just…" She pauses and finally prepares herself to say whats been on her mind. "I didn't want a baby, and now I do. And I want to keep talking about it, but I keep reading these things and so much stuff can go wrong and I don't want it to, and I feel like if I keep talking about how happy I am like I'll jinx it or something… and I just want everything to be okay."

"I'm scared too, Anna."

And that calms Anna because at least now she's not crazy. "So, what do we do?"

Elsa lets out this little laugh and it's so cute and it makes Anna smile all goofy like. "We can't just stop living, Anna. We're doing all that we can. Anything that happens will be out of our hands, so we just hope for the best, okay?"

This is what Anna loves about Elsa. What she loves about their relationship. One moment she's telling the platinum blonde that it's okay to not like her Mother-in-law, and the next moment Elsa's telling her it's okay to be afraid about their baby… potential baby. It's like an equal-footing relationship and it's not what blogs and past teachers and society predicted about _weird teacher-student power dynamics_ because six years later their relationship is happy and healthy and _theirs._ Not anyone else's.

"You're right. We just have to stay positive. How was class today?"

Elsa's voice is noticeably more relaxed when she starts speaking about the switched topic. "It was pretty great, actually. The students are really catching on to this stuff. And it's fun seeing those little light bulbs go off. I'll never get tired of that."

"Sounds to me like high school just wasn't your thing," Anna laughs.

"Yeah, there's definitely a lack of light bulbs there. Or maybe I just wasn't a good enough teacher."

Anna shrugs, leans back in her desk chair. "You're the best teacher _I've_ ever had."

Elsa laughs and then she takes in a breath. "I think that just proves my point even more. I have to start preparing for office hours, Anna. You think you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, Els. Okay… uhhh, you'll tell me when you know, right? When you get the results?"

"Mhm."

"And if it's… if… well, you know. Then, you don't have to call or anything. We can just talk about it when we get home, okay?"

Elsa's silent for a few seconds. Anna knows she doesn't want to think about that option, but finally, "Mhm."

Anna hangs up and for fifteen minutes she sits by her phone. But, Elsa doesn't call. And the waiting game is pretty nerve wrecking, so Anna finally ventures out of her office. She tells her secretary if any calls from Elsa come in, to take down the message and tell it to her as soon as she gets back.

As predicted, her father comes out as soon as he sees her out of her office and he tries to talk to her. It's a little stiff. "Hey Dad. Just don't ask, okay? Not today."

"I wasn't going to," he assures. "I was just going to ask if you're prepared for your client meeting. It's in fifteen minutes."

_Shit. _Anna's forgot all about that with the baby craze and everything. And she's not as prepared as she wants to be, but she's prepared enough. "Yeah, I'm all set."

Thankfully it's just a check-in and the client wants to make sure his money is still fine and dandy so Anna spends an hour and a half going over charts and graphs and plans and whatnot trying to convince him, and once that's over she gets sucked into this board meeting and that goes for another two hours and she really just wants to get back to her phone or her secretary because Elsa's probably called by now and she's the shit wife who wasn't by her phone when she said she'd be.

Finally, after the longest meeting in history because everyone had something to freaking say, Anna makes it back to her office. Only she has no calls. And no messages.

But, that's normal. Has to be. Maybe the test just isn't ready yet or something. Elsa said she'd call when it came back, unless.

_Wow. _

Now Anna kind of wishes she had something else to do to pass the time because it's excruciating knowing that the result probably came in a while ago. And Elsa hasn't called. Which means one thing. Can only mean one thing, and Anna doesn't want to think about that.

They can try again. They can always try again.

It's just. She's kind of really excited for _this _time. She was hoping that this would be it. This would be the take. She was hoping she wouldn't have to board this roller-coaster of did it work this time or did it not. She's read about those couples. She's read about the tears that come along with that. She's not ready for it. More importantly, Elsa's not ready for it. Elsa wants this _so _bad.

Anna struggles with not crying for the next hour before work ends and she wonders how Elsa's feeling right now, because it's probably not good. It's definitely probably worse on her end with her being the one with.

Yeah.

That's what she has to focus on. Anna has to figure out how to make this as easy as possible for Elsa. She knows she can't fully take away the pain of knowing it didn't work. But, she can at least hope to lessen it. Be the positive one. She's always the positive one. Always telling Elsa that things will get better. She's good at that, and she's going to be the best she's ever been, _tonight. _Because that's what Elsa needs right now. She needs a good shoulder to lean on.

When work's finally over Anna heads out as quick as possible so she doesn't attract too many people to her because she can't talk now.

Then she gets in her car and she heads to her and Elsa's favorite pastry shop. The one with the little lemon cakes that Elsa _loves_, and she almost doesn't make it before closing, but the owner knows her so he lets her in and she orders every one they still have left over from the day. She contemplates getting a bottle of wine, but that'd be too insulting. Just the act of reminding Elsa that she can drink. Because she's not pregnant.

Anna sucks in a breath as she leaves the shop and goes back to her car with her bag full of lemon cakes. She doesn't want to dwell on this anymore.

She wants this night to be over.

She wants this day to be over. She wants Elsa to be happy and it's killing her knowing that Elsa is sad and alone every second that she's away. So, she tries to get home as fast and as safely as possible. Only, there's traffic. And Elsa still hasn't called. At this point Anna's late getting home. Elsa would have called anyway, to check in.

But, she hasn't.

Anna wonders if she should just pick up the phone and call Elsa. But she told her wife they could just talk when she got home. She decides she'll hold to that. She'll wait out the traffic and then go home and be Elsa's big spoon as she cries and eats the lemon cakes and she hopes that will be enough, because that's all she has.

When the traffic finally starts to move, Anna kind of finds herself wishing that it didn't. She's not _that_ ready to go home and face this. But now home is ten minutes away. Ten very small minutes.

There's this dread feeling kind of sitting on the surface inside of her. It's just an overall feeling of _bad _and it's sort of like the news hasn't really hit her yet. Like, she's not letting it hit her. Not until she's sure Elsa is okay. Not until everything is fine with her wife. After she's sure of that… that's when she thinks it will finally hit her. And once Elsa's taken care of, she'll be good to deal with her own pain in her own way.

She can't really figure out why this is such a big deal. It wasn't even a thing. It was an almost thing. Her and Elsa knew there was a chance that—

Anna makes it home.

She sits in the car for a few seconds before getting out. When she gets to the front door she takes her time turning the key. When she opens it, Elsa's looking through mail in the living room. She doesn't look as sad as Anna thought she would. Maybe this is a good sign.

Elsa looks up. "Hey, Anna. I just got in five minutes ago." She puts down the mail and takes a step toward Anna. "I'm so sorry."

Anna shuts the front door and shrugs off her jacket. "Don't be sorry, Els. It's not your fault."

"No," Elsa says, her face sinking. She walks even closer to Anna and places a hand on her arm. "I mean, I just. I didn't want to—"

"Els, it's okay," Anna breathes. She's not ready for this. Wasn't prepared for the idea that Elsa might blame herself. And it's kind of breaking her. "I brought home some of those cakes you like."

Elsa runs a hand through her hair, takes in a deep breath. "Anna… I—" she pauses and lets the breath out. "I had a random flux in office hour visits because we have this big project coming up and I left my phone on and it died and I didn't get the chance to call you and then office hours ran over and I'm so, so, so sorry," she says, all in one breath.

Anna knows what she's saying, but just to be sure. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying we're having a baby," Elsa exclaims as a smile spreads across her face.

Anna drops her bag and a tear falls. And she doesn't know if it's joy or… well, who cares at this point because she's having a freaking baby. She wraps her arms around Elsa and shoves her face into the older woman's hair. "I was so scared, and worried. I just wanted you to be okay."

"I know," Elsa whispers, running a hand over Anna's back. "I'm so sorry about that."

"It's okay. Don't apologize. I'm just so happy. It doesn't matter. Oh God. I don't… Lets just not talk about that, and only think about the fact that I have a bag full of lemon cake and you have a tummy full of baby. "

Elsa starts to laugh a bit and she pulls back and places a kiss to Anna's lips, holding her own there for a moment before lifting her head. "I can't imagine starting a family with anyone else."

"Well, I sure hope not," Anna laughs. And it's kind of a tension releasing laugh because she's been so nervous for the past few hours. "That'd be kind of awkward."

"Yeah," Elsa says, laughing some more, and then they're both just giggling like a couple of kids and before they know it they're sitting on the floor and eating lemon cakes and discussing baby names.

Anna figures out that she really likes Sophia for a girl and so does Elsa, or maybe Annabelle because that's as close to Anna Jr. as Elsa will get. And they both think that if it's a boy that they could maybe name it after Anna's father but they don't think about that too much because Elsa really feels like it's a girl even though she's only been officially pregnant for a few hours. But, Anna read somewhere that the mother is always right like fifty percent of the time and Elsa points out that she only has a fifty percent chance of getting it wrong and they both laugh at that.

They go on to brag and talk about nothing but babies for the next nine months and they register for baby shower gifts and take parenting classes and child proof the house and buy every little crazy thing that first time parents buy. And it's one of those happily ever after type deals.

At least until Anna sees the baby crowning in the delivery room and it forever changes her life.

— X —

**The (Official) End**


End file.
